Myrtilus
Μυρτίλος
(Μυρτίλος), a son of Hermes by Cleobule, or by Clytia (Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.13), or, according to others, by Phaetusa or Myrto. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 1.752.) He was the charioteer of Oenomaus, king of Elis, and, having betrayed his master, he was thrown into the sea by Pelops near Geraestus in Euboea; and that part of the Aegean is said to have thenceforth been called after him the Myrtoan sea. At the moment he expired, he pronounced a curse upon the house of Pelops, which was hence harassed by the Erinnyes of that curse. His father placed him among the stars as auriga. (Soph. Elect. 509; Eur. Orest. 993, &c.; Apollon. 1.755; Paus. 2.18.2, 5.1.5, 8.14.8; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 156, 162; Hyg. Fab. 84, Poet. Astr. 2.13; Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 1.205, 3.7; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 184.) His tomb was shown at Pheneus, behind the temple of Hermes, where the waves were believed to have washed his body on the coast. There he was also worshipped as a hero, and honoured with nocturnal sacrifices. (Paus. 6.20.8, 8.14.7.)
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.