- For the butterfly genus, see Eumaeus (butterfly).
In
Greek mythology,
Eumaeus (; ,
Eumaios) was
Odysseus's
swineherd and friend. His father, Ktesios son of Ormenos was king of an island called Syria. When he was a young child a Phoenician sailor seduced his nurse, a slave, who agreed to bring the child among other treasures in exchange for their help in her escape. The nurse was killed by
Artemis on the journey by sea, but the sailors continued to Ithaca where Odysseus' father Laertes bought him as a slave. Thereafter he was brought up with Odysseus and his sister
Ctimene (or Ktimene), and was treated by
Anticleia, their mother, almost as Ctimene's equal.
