Sybaris (mythology)

For other uses of Sybaris, see Sybaris (disambiguation).

Sybaris was a drakaina of Greek mythology.

Mythology

Dwelling on Mount Kriphis, Sybaris terrorized the countryside of Delphi, devouring livestock and people. The people of the region asked the Oracle of Delphi how to end the depredations. The oracle answered that a young man needed to be sacrificed to the dragon before the people would have peace. The young and handsome Alkyoneus, son of Diomos and Meganeira, was selected to be the victim, but the hero Eurybaros, son of Euphemos and a descendant of the river god Axios, was overcome with love for Alkyoneus and became determined to save him. He took his place as the victim and hurled the dragon from the mountainside, striking it against the rocks where a fountain sprung up. The city of Sybaris was supposed to have been named after the drakaina.

The myth is recorded by Antoninus Liberalis, who gives Lamia as an alternate name for the creature, perhaps conflating Sybaris with the better known Lamia.

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