Galaxy/The codex of Halius

Halius (Ancient Greek: Ἅλιος, "of the sea") is a Phaeacian prince, son of King Alcinous and Arete of Scheria. In the Odyssey he and his brother win the foot-race at the games for Odysseus and later perform the unmatched ball-dance with Laodamas. Distinct from Homeric Lycian Halius, the Zacynthian suitor, and Virgil's companion of Aeneas.

Adapted from Wikipedia, "Halius" · CC BY-SA 4.0

I.Son of Alcinous

Homer names Halius among Alcinous' sons beside Nausicaa, Clytoneus, and Laodamas. At the Phaeacian games held for Odysseus, Halius and a brother take the foot-race. Later Alcinous pairs him with Laodamas in a ball-dance no other Phaeacian can match — a display of Scherian grace after the athletic contests.

He belongs to the peaceful court that conveys Odysseus home; he has no war myth of his own.

II.Homonym care

Iliad 5 knows a Lycian Halius slain by Odysseus under Sarpedon; Apollodorus lists a Zacynthian suitor of Penelope among the forty-four from that island; Virgil's Aeneid has a Halius killed by Turnus. The atlas id halius-phaeacian is Alcinous' son alone — not halius-zacynthus or halius-lycian.

AT A GLANCE

Greek nameHalius (Ἅλιος)
Typemortal
Domainsson of Alcinous · Phaeacian games · ball-dance
ParentageAlcinous · Arete
Cult centersScheria (Phaeacia)
EtymologyAncient Greek Ἅλιος / Ἅλιόν, "of the sea."
READ MOREWikipedia