NICOSTRATUS (son of Menelaus and Helen)
Figure of myth · son of Menelaus and Helen of Troy
- Parents
- Menelaus, Helen of Troy
- Siblings
- Hermione, Morraphius, Pleisthenes, Aethiolas, Thronius
- In the sources
- 31 ancient passages
Nicostratus, son of Menelaus and Helen, held a claim to the Lacedaemonian throne.1,2,3 Some accounts describe him as a descendant of Ares, while others state he was the son of a slave woman.3,2 His siblings included Hermione, Morraphius, Pleisthenes, Aethiolas, and Thronius.
As an infant, he was kidnapped from Prymnessus in Phrygia by robbers.4 He was taken to Aegeae, where an unnamed individual purchased him.4 The buyer had dreamed a lion's cub lay under the bed where the infant slept.4 Nicostratus achieved victories in the pancratium and wrestling at Olympia.4 He also won additional victories in other locations.4
Later, Nicostratus drove Helen out of Sparta while Orestes was still wandering.5 The Lacedaemonians considered the sons of Tyndareus's daughter to have priority over him.2 He was a writer who composed a work called the Pseudostigmatias.6 Menecrates referred to Nicostratus as a second Heracles.7 Nicostratus is said to have instituted the ritual performed at the nearby pit.8
