Alcaeus

In the mythographic tradition recorded in sources such as Apollodorus and later summaries, Alcaeus is presented as one of the sons of Perseus and Andromeda and thus a member of the Perseid house associated with Mycenae/Tiryns. His siblings in these accounts include figures such as Sthenelus and Electryon; Alcaeus himself is named the father of Amphitryon (and, in some accounts, a daughter Anaxo) by a consort variously identified in different traditions (Apollodorean summaries give Astydamia as a mother-figure, while other variants name Laonome or Hipponome). Through Amphitryon (and the ensuing narratives of cattle-raids, accidental deaths, exile, and marriage to Alcmena), Alcaeus serves to link the Perseid dynasty to the generation that produces Heracles, locating him in the generation after Perseus in the heroic-age genealogical sequence.

No independent physical description or iconography for Alcaeus is provided in the surveyed sources; extant accounts characterize him by genealogical relation (son of Perseus, father of Amphitryon) and sociopolitical role (Mycenaean prince) rather than by clothing, stature, or distinctive bodily features. He appears in literary and mythographic lists and narrative summaries, not as a visually depicted cult figure.

Sources do not ascribe supernatural powers, prophetic functions, or spirit-like behaviors to Alcaeus. His 'abilities' are narrative and social: he functions as a dynastic progenitor and genealogical connector whose position in family trees explains later events (for example, Amphitryon's marriage to Alcmena, the cattle-conflicts tied to the Perseid family, and the circumstances that permit Zeus' liaison with Alcmena and the birth of Heracles). The tradition frames Alcaeus as a mortal prince whose significance is genealogical and etiological rather than magical.