Cercetes

In Greek mythology, Cercetes (Ancient Greek: Κερκέτης) was an Egyptian prince as one of the sons of King Aegyptus.

Name

The form Κερκέτης was put forward by Richard Wagner. Other spellings, which Wilhelm Capelle deems incorrect, include: κέρκηστις, found in certain manuscripts; κερκήστης, used by Christian Gottlob Heyne; and κερκέστης, mentioned by Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher.

Family

In the Bibliotheca, a 1st- or 2nd-century AD mythological compendium by the mythographer Apollodorus, Cercetes is one of the sons of Aegyptus, the king of Egypt. Cercetes marries Dorion, one of the fifty Danaïdes, daughters of the Libyan king Danaus.

Mythology

Cercetes suffered the same fate as his other brothers, save Lynceus, when they were slain on their wedding night by their wives who obeyed the command of their father King Danaus of Libya.

References

• Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Capelle, Wilhelm, "Kerketes", in Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, Band XI, Halbband 1, edited by Wilhelm Kroll, Stuttgart, J. B. Metzler, 1921. Wikisource.