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Electryon, a MythSource painting
Greek

Electryon

King of Mycenae · Son of Perseus · Father of Alcmena

01Identity

When the sons of Pterelaos stole Electryon’s cattle, his sons fought them, leaving Licymnios and Everes alive. Electryon was king of Mycenae, the son of Perseus and the father of Alcmena. Amphitryon recovered the herd, helped defeat the invading Taphians, and then received control of Mycenae and marriage to Alcmena.

Top questions
02Family
PerseusAndromeda
ElectryonAlcaeusErythrasGorgophoneMestorPersesSthenelus

with Anaxo, Eurydice of Mycenae

AlkmeneAmphimachusAnactorArchelausCelaineusCheirimachusGorgophonusLicymnius
LysinomusPhylonomusStratobates
03The myths

1 myth, with sources recorded for each.

While Electryon ruled at Mycenae, the sons of Pterelaos arrived with Taphios and claimed the kingdom associated with Mestor, their maternal grandfather. Electryon rejected their claim. The visitors then drove away his cattle. Electryon’s sons pursued them, and the two groups challenged one another in battle. They killed one another, leaving only Licymnios among Electryon’s sons, because he was still a child, and Everes among Pterelaos’s sons, because he had been guarding the ships.

The Taphians who escaped sailed away with the stolen cattle. They placed the animals in the care of Polyxenos, king of the Eleans. Amphitryon ransomed the cattle from Polyxenos and brought them back to Mycenae. Electryon then sought vengeance for the deaths of his sons. With Amphitryon’s help, he defeated the invading Taphians, who were also called Teleboans in the account of his planned expedition.

Electryon intended to continue the war against the Teleboans. He entrusted the kingdom to Amphitryon and gave him his daughter Alcmene. He made Amphitryon swear that he would respect her virginity until Electryon returned. The account then turns to the recovery of the cattle, which Electryon was receiving back when the passage breaks off. The islands of the Teleboans lay opposite Acarnania, near the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf.

Electryon’s War with the Taphians, a MythSource painting of the scene

3 sources· checked 2026-08-18

  1. 1The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)T1
  2. 2Apollodorus, The LibraryT1

    Quote

    “Pterelaos’s sons claimed their maternal grandfather Mestor’s kingdom, took Electryon’s cattle, and were defeated after their surviving companions fled by ship.”

    Apollodorus, The Library

  3. 3The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)T1

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Electryon, each on that figure’s page.

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