< Laertes, son of Arcesius >

1 Origin

In 1255 BC, Laertes was born in Ithaca on the Ionian Sea.

His father was Arcesius (or Arcisius).

Arcesius was the son of Cephalus, son of Pandion.

Laertes' mother was Chalcomedusa.

Chalcomedusa was probably the daughter of Ithacus, son of Pterelaus (or Pterelas), who gave Ithaca its name.

2 Family

In 1236 BC, Laertes took as his wife Anticleia (or Anticlia), daughter of Autolycus, who lived far away near Mount Parnassus.

The consummation of this marriage was by blood.

Laertes was the grandson of Cephalus, son of Pandion, the 8th king of Athenians, and Anticleia was the granddaughter of Philonis, daughter of Pandion.

In other words, Anticleia was a second cousin of Laertes.

Laertes and Anticleia had a son Odysseus and a daughter Ctimene.

3 Others

In 1220 BC, Laertes led the Cephallenians to capture Nericus on the Leucas peninsula.

Laertes is mentioned in the Argonauts' expeditionary narrative.

Laertes, however, was one generation after the other participants. This error was due to the fact that the mother of Laertes' father, Arcesius, was incorrectly reported as Procris.

Arcesius was born of Euryodeia, whom his father Cephalus took to wife after an expedition to Cephallenia following the death of Procris and a battle with the Teleboans.

In other words, the later poets who added Laertes to the list of Argonauts were unaware of this fact.