Palaechthon Explained

In Greek mythology, Palaechthon or Palaichthon (grc|Παλαίχθονος||long in the land)^[1] was the father of Pelasgus, king of Argos and eponym of the Pelasgians.

Aeschylus

In The Suppliants, Aeschylus (5th century BC) writes that:

For I am Pelasgus, offspring of Palaechthon, whom the earth brought forth, and lord of this land; and after me, their king, is rightly named the race of the Pelasgi, who harvest the land.^[2]

Palaechthon is not mentioned outside of this passage by Aeschylus, who seems to have invented him.^[3]

References

• Aeschylus, translated in two volumes. 2. Suppliant Women by Herbert Weir Smyth, Ph. D. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1926. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Hard, Robin, The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology", London and New York, Routledge, 2004. . .

Notes and References

1. Hard, p. 538.
2. Aeschylus, Suppliant Women 250 ff
3. Hard, p. 538.