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Following the deaths of the dragon and
Menestratus, the people of Thespiae would erect a bronze statue to honour Zeus, worshipped under the epithet 'Saviour'; although it had not been Zeus who actually saved the city, it is not always possible to find coherent explanations for all aspects of Greek
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Olympic victor of the fifth century BC, who killed a beast and saved a beautiful woman from it. Unlike that legend, and more in line with the
Alcyoneus-Eurybarus story, the lovers of Thespiae are of the same sex, a rather rare variant of the fairytale trope where the hero saves the damsel from a
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specifically targeted livestock and humans. A man then decides to confront it, willingly taking the place of a young man or boy they have fallen in love with, who is supposed to be sacrificed to the beast. Differences include that
Cleostratus and Menestratus are an established couple, whereas
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Menestratus, who would not allow
Cleostratus to suffer death at the jaws of the dragon, came up with a plan. Although he was probably not a teenager and thus ineligible, he took Cleostratus' place nevertheless and entered the dragon's den, clad in a bronze breastplate that had upward-pointing
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fish-hooks fastened on the plates, hoping the sharp points would kill the dragon. His plan was successful and the dragon died, Menestratus' sacrifice thus saving both
Cleostratus and the Thespians.
129:, with Cleostratus' role paralleling Alcyoneus' own. In both stories there is a theme of a horrifying (serpentine) beast that ravages a town; the Thespian dragon causes undefined damage, while
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Eurybarus only met
Alcyoneus on the day the youth was about to die. Also, unlike Eurybarus, Menestratus does not survive the encounter with the beast.
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105:) to the dragon. After an unspecified amount of years and sacrifices, Cleostratus was chosen by lot to be the next victim of the dragon.
97:. Their city was attacked by a horrible dragon monster, who ravaged Thespiae and caused great destruction. The people of Thespiae asked
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Pausanias
Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.
81:. Cleostratus' myth is an early example of the hero-tale where the hero saves a damsel or princess from a vicious dragon.
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Ariadne's Thread: A Guide to
International Oral Narratives in Classical Literature
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Cambridge, MA, Harvard
University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
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The
Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis: A Translation with a Commentary
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Monsters and Monarchs: Serial Killers in Classical Myth and History
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Another tale of the same type is a legend said about Euthymos, a
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77:, a second-century work by Greek traveller and geographer
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430:translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992).
73:. His and Menestratus's myth is known thanks to
492:. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
489:Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins
61:'glorious army') is a teenage boy from
581:Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
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619:Human sacrifice in folklore and mythology
432:Online version at the Topos Text Project.
428:The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis
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16:Youth from Thespiae in Greek mythology
513:The Dictionary of Classical Mythology
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594:THESPIAN DRAGON on the Theoi Project
552:March, Jennifer R. (May 31, 2014).
468:. Austin, US: University of Texas.
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555:Dictionary of Classical Mythology
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121:The myth is similar to that of
624:LGBT themes in Greek mythology
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537:. Cornell University Press.
531:Hansen, William F. (2002).
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437:Celoria, Francis (1992).
484:Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy
462:Felton, Debbie (2021).
609:Mythological Boeotians
160:Ancient Greece portal
89:Cleostratus lived in
75:Description of Greece
19:For other uses, see
516:. Wiley-Blackwell.
424:Antoninus Liberalis
374:Antoninus Liberalis
210:Princess and dragon
113:myths and legends.
205:Damsel in distress
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316:Menestratus
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284:Cleostratus
280:Grimal 1987
231:, pp.
229:Felton 2021
95:Menestratus
71:Menestratus
51:Kleóstratos
40:Κλεόστρατος
32:Cleostratus
21:Cleostratus
603:Categories
418:References
406:, p.
312:March 2014
252:, p.
573:Pausanias
445:Routledge
328:Pausanias
266:Pausanias
200:Andromeda
127:Eurybarus
123:Alcyoneus
85:Mythology
79:Pausanias
45:romanized
510:(1987).
486:(1959).
146:See also
142:dragon.
91:Thespiae
63:Thespiae
392:101-102
362:151–152
346:148–149
314:, s.v.
282:, s.v.
196:Perseus
139:Locrian
131:Sybaris
103:ephebos
67:Boeotia
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198:and
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