Alcaeus (son of Perseus)

According to Greek mythology, Alcaeus (Ἀλκαῖος) was the son of Perseus and Andromeda, and ancestor of Heracles.

Genealogy

The name Alcaeus evokes, in Greek, the idea of strength: άλκή. He was the first son of Perseus born in Greece; On his father's side he was descended from Zeus and the house of Danaus, and on his mother's side he was descended from Belus, father of Danaus and Poseidon.

Mythology

Alcaeus took Astidamía, daughter of Pelops, as his wife; thus uniting two of the most important heroic lineages (other authors claim that his wife was Laonome, daughter of Guneo or Hipónome, daughter of Menoeceus). Although born in Mycenae, he reigned in Tiryns as his father's successor. He had two daughters, Anaxus (who some versions say married Electrion, king of Mycenae) and Perimede, who married Licymnius. The other son of Alcaeus and Astidamía was Amphitryon. Daughter of Electrion and Lysidice, or Anaxus, was Alcmene who, in turn, was taken as a wife by her uncle Amphitryon. Alcmene was the mother of Heracles or Hercules by Zeus. Alcmene was also the mother of Iphicles, who was conceived with Amphitryon as his father. In his youth, Heracles bore the name Alcaeus (Alcides in other versions) in homage to his great-grandfather. For this same reason, authors such as Lucano in his work 'Pharsalia' They call Heracles or Hercules the Alcida.