Aeacus is the king of Aegina and an ally of Athens. When king Minos asks Aeacus to help him in his war against Athens, Aeacus refuses. Not only is he Athens’s ally, but Aegina has just managed to recover from a terrible plague that decimated their population. During this plague, Aeacus prayed to Jupiter for help. The next night, Aeacus dreamed that thousands of ants became people. The next morning, Aegina teemed with new citizens that Aeacus called the Myrmidons. Aeacus gathers his new army to assist Cephalus in Athens’s war against Minos.
Get the entire Metamorphoses LitChart as a printable PDF.
Aeacus Character Timeline in Metamorphoses
The timeline below shows where the character Aeacus appears in Metamorphoses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 7: Minos and Aeacus
...refuse to side with him. Eventually, King Minos arrives at Aegina where a king named Aeacus rules. A large party gathers to greet the Minos. Minos asks King Aeacus to help...
(full context)
...Aegina in war. As he sails away, a ship from Athens enters Aegina’s port. King Aeacus’s three sons—Telamon, Peleus, and Phocus—greet Cephalus, an aged hero, as he deboards with his two...
(full context)
Book 7: The Plague at Aegina
Cephalus’s business in Aegina is to bring a message from Athens asking for King Aeacus’s help in the war that King Minos is threatening. Without hesitation, King Aeacus promises to...
(full context)
Aeacus sighs and explains that a terrible plague decimated Aegina. Queen Juno, angry that Aegina was...
(full context)
In his despair, King Aeacus wants to die with his people. Many times, he tries to make a sacrifice to...
(full context)
Book 7: The Birth of the Myrmidons
Finally, King Aeacus protests to Jupiter, asking him to assist the son he had with Aegina (King Aeacus)....
(full context)
That night, King Aeacus dreams that thousands of crawling ants grow and transform into a population of humans. When...
(full context)
Book 7: Cephalus and Procris
After King Aeacus tells the stories of the plague and the Myrmidons, he and Cephalus sit down to...
(full context)
Book 8: Scylla and Minos
When Cephalus finishes his story, King Aeacus appears with the soldiers he’s gathered for Athens. A few mornings later, Cephalus sets sail...
(full context)
Book 8: Meleager and the Calydonian Boar
...a group of fighters to kill the bull. Among this group are Telamon and Peleus, Aeacus’s sons, and Atalanta, a female archer whose face is a combination of masculine and feminine...
(full context)
Book 12: Cycnus
...The Trojan army assembles to wait for the Greeks. As soon as the Greeks arrive, Hector—Aeacus’s brother—and Cycnus—son of Neptune—kill many of them. On the Greek side, Achilles kills many Trojans....
(full context)
