Eurybates

For the asteroid with the same name, see 3548 Eurybates.

In Greek mythology, Eurybates (/jʊˈrɪbətiːz/, Ancient Greek: Εὐρυβάτης) may refer to the same or different herald(s) for the Greek armies during Trojan War:

  • Eurybates, from Ithaca, served as Odysseus's squire and herald. He was described by Odysseus to Penelope as "round-shouldered, dark-skinned, and curly-haired". Odysseus is said to pay him greater regard than any other of his companions for his honesty and faithfulness.[1]
  • Eurybates, a herald who was sent, along with Talthybius, by Agamemnon to retrieve Briseis from Achilles' camp in Iliad, I, but he might be a different person from Odysseus's herald mentioned in Iliad, 2 ("Eurybates of Ithaca"), and in the Odyssey.[2]
Eurybates on a Roman mosaic with the Removal of Briseis, 2nd century
  1. ^ Homer, Odyssey 19.246–9
  2. ^ (in French) René Langumier, Les hérauts de l'ambassade auprès d'Achille, Bulletin de l'Association Guillaume Budé, n° 2, June 1956. p. 72-73.