Nireus was the son of King
Charopus and
Aglaea. He was renowned for his outstanding beauty, being described as the second most handsome man in the Greek camp after
Achilles.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
Mythology
Nireus was among the
suitors of Helen and consequently joined in the campaign against Troy;[8] he was said to have commanded three ships.[9][10][11] In the military conflict with the
Mysian king
Telephus, which occurred on the way to Troy (during the first unsuccessful attempt to reach the city), Nireus killed Telephus' wife
Hiera, who fought from a chariot "like an
Amazon".[12][13]
Another story of Nireus, who was "the most beautiful man who came beneath Ilion" (Iliad, 2.673), is the one of his love for
Heracles. But
Ptolemy adds that certain authors made Nireus out to be a son of Heracles.[14]
Nireus did not excel in physical strength[15] and was eventually killed by either
Eurypylus, son of
Telephus,[16][17][18] or
Aeneas.[19] However, according to the version recounted by
John Tzetzes, Nireus survived the war and, together with
Thoas, having been caught in the storm that scattered the Greek ships, landed first in
Libya and then sailed off to Argyrinoi and the Ceraunian Mountains, where they settled near Mount Lakmynion and River Aias.[20]
Lucius Flavius Philostratus, Heroica, translation by Jennifer K. Berenson Maclean and Ellen Bradshaw Aitken, Flavius Philostratus: On Heroes, WGRW 3 (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2002), XX. Harvard University's Center for Hellenic Studies.
Online version at the Topos Text Project.