Idomeneus

Idomeneus (Greek Ἰδομενεύς ) In Greek mythology, a king of Crete and one of those Greek heroes at Troy, which were hidden in the Wooden Horse. It is he who brought the Cretans in the reputation of being born liar.

He is in Homer the son of Deucalion, grandson of Minos and Pasiphae and thus great-grandson of Zeus and Helios, as well as the father of Orsilochos. Because of its descent from Helios he leads by Pausanias as a tap plate characters. In pseudo - Apollodorus, he is the brother of the ridge and half-brother of Molo, as his wife is called Meda.

Since he was one of the suitors of Helen, he had vowed to defend their marriage, and participated with 80 ships in the campaign. Before he drove the Greeks to Troy in a harder action against the Trojans. When he fell on his return in a storm that destroyed 79 of his 80 ships, he vowed, the first person he would see on his return to sacrifice to Poseidon. That was his own son Idamantes. But at home, wanted to sacrifice even his family, and of so much love Poseidon was mollified and let everyone alive. In any case, had Leukos - who had brought in his absence many Cretan cities under his control - reason to expel him the old king of Crete. According to other narratives Idomeneus just returned home to Crete and ruled his country until his death.

On the history of the Idomeneus based Idomeneo by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the spectacle of Idomeneus by Roland Schimmelpfennig.