< Demophon, son of Theseus >

1 Origin

Demophon was born in Athens in 1240 BC.

Demophon's father was Theseus, the 10th King of Athens.

Demophon's mother was Phaedra, daughter of Minos.

2 Family

2.1 Demophon's Wife

The chronicle of Jerome, a theologian of the 5th century AD, tells us that some believe that Demophon's son Oxyntes was a descendant of Heracles.

If this is true, then Demophon's father Theseus is the same generation as Heracles, so the woman who is Demophon's wife and Oxyntes' mother must be Heracles' daughter.

Demophon's wife is presumed to have been Macaria, daughter of Heracles, based on the following

1) In 1218 BC, Eurystheus of Mycenae threatened Ceyx of Trachis with force if he did not remove the Heracles family.

2) Tricorythus had a spring named after Macaria, daughter of Heracles and Deianeira.

3) Eurystheus was concerned that Heracles' children were coming of age one after another and attacked them. In other words, Macaria was also of marriageable age.

4) Theseus' son Demophon was also of marriageable age and lived in the same area.

Based on the above, Jerome's theory seems to be true.

Iope, sister of Iolaus, the guardian of Macaria, was one of the wives of Demophon's father Theseus.

It is presumed that Iolaus introduced Macaria to Demophon, the son of his brother-in-law Theseus.

2.2 Demophon's son

Demophon had a son, Oxyntes.

Demophon became the 13th King of Athens.

3 Others

3.1 Exile to Euboea

In 1210 BC, Demophon and Acamas went into exile to Elephenor, son of Chalcodon of Chalcis in Euboea.

Elephenor was the brother of Chalciope, the mother-in-law of Theseus. In other words, Elephenor was the brother of Demophon's father's mother-in-law.

3.2 Return to Athens

In 1186 BC, Demophon and Acamas returned from Euboea to Athens and became the 13th King of Athens.

Menestheus, pursued from Athens by Demophon and Acamas, fled to the island of Melos, where he died.