Autolycus

Autolycus visited his daughter Anticlea after she gave birth to her son. He saw the newborn child and gave him the name Odysseus. Autolycus had become hated, and many people had grown angry with him. He chose the name because it recalled the hostility and anger that had gathered around him. No other reason for the name was given, and no different naming was described.

Autolycus was Anticlea’s father and Odysseus’ maternal grandfather. He was known for theft and for false oaths. Hermes had granted him this ability. Autolycus honoured Hermes by burning the pleasing thigh bones of sheep and goats, and Hermes favoured him in return. These acts and his reputation explained why hatred and anger had followed him, and why he named the child Odysseus.

The family connection appeared again when Odysseus went to Mount Parnassus with Autolycus and Autolycus’ sons. Odysseus had gone there on a hunt and later bore a scar from a wild boar. Autolycus and his sons welcomed him, while Amphithea, his grandmother, embraced him and kissed his head and eyes. Autolycus ordered his sons to prepare dinner. They brought a five-year-old bull, divided its meat, roasted it, and served it. The family feasted until sunset, then went to bed.

Years later, Odysseus’ nurse recognised the scar while she washed his feet. The wound revealed his identity. The naming itself had taken place much earlier, when Autolycus visited Anticlea after the child’s birth and named him for the hatred directed towards himself.

Chione bore Autolycus. In one telling, Hermes fathered him. In another, Autolycus claimed Hermes as his father, while Apollo fathered his twin Philammon. Hermes gave Autolycus the power to change stolen animals from horned to unhorned, and from black to white, and back again. Autolycus became a prince of thieves and a master of deception.

Hermes had shown similar cunning. As a child, he escaped from his swaddling clothes and went to Pieria, where Apollo's cattle grazed. He covered their feet, drove them to Pylos, and hid them in a cave. He sacrificed two cattle, then returned to Mount Cyllene. There he made a lyre from a tortoise shell and the strings from the cattle's guts. Apollo discovered the theft, but Hermes' tricks delayed him. When Apollo heard the lyre, he allowed Hermes to keep the cattle, and the two gods became friends. Hermes later gave Apollo the lyre. Hermes also stole Hephaestus' tools, Zeus's sceptre, Poseidon's trident, Ares' sword, and Aphrodite's girdle.

Autolycus used his power when he stole cattle from Sisyphus. He changed the animals' markings, but Sisyphus had marked the insides of their hooves. The hoofprints showed that Autolycus had taken them.