Nausithous, the king of the
Phaeacians who reigned in the generation before
Odysseus washed ashore on their home island of
Scherie (his son Alcinous was king at the time of Odysseus's arrival). He was the son of the god
Poseidon and
Periboia, the daughter of the
Giant king
Eurymedon. According to
Homer, Nausithous led a migration of Phaeacians from Hypereia to the island of Scheria in order to escape the lawless
Cyclopes. He is the father of
Alcinous and
Rhexenor. Alcinous would go on to marry his niece, Rhexenor's daughter
Arete.[1] One source relates that
Heracles came to Nausithous to get cleansed after the murder of his children; during his stay in the land of the Phaeacians, the hero fell in love with the nymph
Melite and conceived a son
Hyllus with her.[2]
This article includes a list of Greek mythological figures with the same or similar names. If an
internal link for a specific Greek mythology article referred you to this page, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended Greek mythology article, if one exists.
Nausithous, the king of the
Phaeacians who reigned in the generation before
Odysseus washed ashore on their home island of
Scherie (his son Alcinous was king at the time of Odysseus's arrival). He was the son of the god
Poseidon and
Periboia, the daughter of the
Giant king
Eurymedon. According to
Homer, Nausithous led a migration of Phaeacians from Hypereia to the island of Scheria in order to escape the lawless
Cyclopes. He is the father of
Alcinous and
Rhexenor. Alcinous would go on to marry his niece, Rhexenor's daughter
Arete.[1] One source relates that
Heracles came to Nausithous to get cleansed after the murder of his children; during his stay in the land of the Phaeacians, the hero fell in love with the nymph
Melite and conceived a son
Hyllus with her.[2]
This article includes a list of Greek mythological figures with the same or similar names. If an
internal link for a specific Greek mythology article referred you to this page, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended Greek mythology article, if one exists.