< Teucer, son of Telamon >

1 Origin

Teucer was born in Salamis in 1250 BC.

Teucer's father was Telamon, son of Aeacus.

1.1 Teucer's mother

1.1.1 Periboea (or Eriboea)

The mother of Teucer's brother Ajax was Periboea, daughter of Alcathous of Megara.

Ajax succeeded Alcathous as king of Megara.

If Teucer's mother was Periboea, then Teucer was born after Ajax.

However, it is said that Ajax's mother and Teucer's mother are different.

1.1.2 Hesione

Many legends say that Teucer's mother was Hesione, the daughter of Laomedon.

However, the following facts lead us to believe that the legend that Hesione was Teucer's mother is a fiction.

1) One of Priam's sisters had a son named Trambelus.

2) Achilles killed Trambelus.

3) Trambelus, whom Achilles killed, was the king of Leleges in Miletus.

If Trambelus was the son of Telamon, he would have been Achilles' cousin, and there is no way that Achilles would not have known about it.

The mother of Trambelus was Hesione, who is said to have married Telamon, and it is believed that Hesione married the king of Leleges in Miletus, not Telamon.

1.1.3 Glauce

Diodorus writes that Telamon married Periboea after the death of his wife Glauce, but does not say whether she had children.

However, there is a tradition that Cychreus' daughter Glauce had a son.

It is assumed that the mother of Teucer was Cychreus' daughter Glauce.

If this is true, Teucer was older than Ajax.

2 Family

Teucer married Eune, daughter of Cinyras.

Teucer and Eune had a daughter, Asteria.

3 Other

3.1 Emigration to Cyprus

The 12th century AD rhetorician Tzetzes states that Teucer migrated to Cyprus before Agapenor. He also writes that Agapenor came to Cyprus to mine copper.

In 1225 BC, Teucer migrated from Salamis to Cyprus and married Eune, daughter of Cinyras.

Probably, Teucer migrated to Cyprus in search of the precious ores found in Amathus.

Cinyras' mother, Amathousis, was the godmother of the town of Amathus.

Cinyras became synonymous with wealth, rivaling King Midas, due to the precious ores found in Amathus.

3.2 Trojan War

In 1188 BC, the sons of Antenor expelled the sons of Priam and occupied Ilium.

The sons of Priam requested reinforcements from the Achaeans, who had been on friendly terms with them through the use of the Hellespont.

The Achaeans organized an expeditionary force against Troy, with Achilles as its commander-in-chief.

Teucer's brother Ajax, cousin of Achilles, also participated in the expedition.

In 1186 BC, Teucer heard of the Achaeans' struggle and rushed from Cyprus to Troy to help Ajax. However, when Teucer arrived in Troy, Achilles and Ajax had already died.

Teucer entrusted Ajax's sons, who were born during the expedition, to Achilles' son Neoptolemus, and returned to Cyprus with the Trojans who wanted to emigrate.

3.3 Founding of Salamis

Teucer founded Salamis in Cyprus.

The first inhabitants of Salamis were Trojans who had followed Hector, son of Priam, in a battle against the sons of Antenor and been defeated.

Teucer's descendants ruled Salamis until the time of Euagoras in the 4th century BC.

It is believed that early Salaminian rulers spread the fiction that Teucer was of Troy royal descent in order to subjugate the Trojans.