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Autolycus, also known as the King of Thieves, is a recurring character on Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

Although Autolycus is a master thief and a skilled combatant, he is often described as having "a heart of gold". He has a code that he will never kill, although he was nearly driven to break that code when he came up against the man who killed his brother. He is a great escape artist; capable of escaping 200 chain locks in less than a night.

Autolycus is also a good friend of Xena, Gabrielle, Hercules, Iolaus, Joxer and Salmoneus; often accompanying them in their travels.

Autolycus is played by Bruce Campbell.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Autolycus never met his father. His mother died when he was very young, so he was raised by his older brother, Malacus. As an adult, Malacus was tricked out of his land by a merchant named Tarsus. Malacus protested the injustice, but Tarsus then had him murdered – a crime that was blatantly ignored by law enforcement. Autolycus avenged his brother by robbing Tarsus blind and giving the spoils to the socially destitute. As a result, Autolycus became an outlaw, but he never forgets the good that Malacus had done for him. Autolycus also spoke once of a twin sister, but her name is unknown.

Career as a thief[]

Autolycus tried to plunder the Quallus Collection in his youth but failed because of King Quallus' superior security systems. Years later, a more seasoned Autolycus disguised himself as a statue of Hermes in the collection itself. He waited until the guards had left for the night and then proceeded to steal the Kronos Stone. When Autolycus discovered that the Kronos Stone could take him back in time he planned to go back and steal the Quallus Collection with fore-knowledge of the security. He did in fact go back in time and encountered his younger self who proved to be too obnoxious and egotistical to work with. (HTLJ "The End of the Beginning")

Getting back together with his ex wife[]

Luscious Deluxe was the ex-wife of Autolycus. Luscious was a show-dancer and thief who was married to Autolycus for a time, before they had a major falling-out. Eventually, in an act of spite, Luscious framed Autolycus for a bank robbery, but she was discovered by Hercules; after a fight, Hercules agreed not to implicate Luscious but still cleared Autolycus' name. These events rekindled Autolycus and Luscious' feelings for each other, and they became a couple once more. (HTLJ: "Hercules, Tramps and Thieves")

Gallery[]

Background[]

  • Autolycus appeared in 8 episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess and 10 episodes in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (a total of 18 episodes).
  • Autolycus was supposed to make no appearances on XWP after its second season because the producers wanted to reduce the reliance on crossovers and expand the supporting character roster of both series. As a result, Autolycus and Salmoneus were to be restricted to HTLJ, while Joxer and Callisto were restricted to XWP. However, Autolycus's popularity caused him to appear in both seasons 3 and 4.
  • Autolycus's wardrobe includes a green tunic, possibly in reference to Robin Hood (also known as a thief, particularly in the title of a film featuring Kevin Costner).
  • In mythology, Autolycus(/ɔːˈtɒlɪkəs/; Ancient Greek: Αὐτόλυκος Autolykos 'the wolf itself') was the son of Hermes. He was the maternal grandfather of Jason and of Ulysses, through his daughters Polymede and Anticlea, respectfully.. Autolycus was a successful robber who had even the power of metamorphosing both the stolen goods and himself. He had his residence on Mount Parnassus and was renowned among men for his cunning and oaths. Autolycus obtained most of the same skills that his supposed father Hermes possesses, such as the arts of theft and trickery. It was said that he "loved to make white of black, and black of white, from a hornless animal to a horned one, or from horned one to a hornless". He was given the gift that his thievery could not be caught by anyone. Autolycus, master of thievery, was also well known for stealing Sisyphus' herd right from underneath him – Sisyphus, who was commonly known for being a crafty king that killed guests, seduced his niece and stole his brothers' throne and was banished to the throes of Tartarus by the gods. Heracles, the great Greek hero, was taught the art of wrestling by Autolycus. However, Autolycus was a source of trouble in Heracles' life, because when Autolycus stole some cattle from Euboea and Eurytus, they accused Heracles of the deed; upon going mad from these accusations, Heracles killed them and another one of Eurytus' sons, Iphitus. This led to Heracles serving three years of punishment to repent the deed. Through Anticleia, Autolycus was also the grandfather of the famous warrior Odysseus, and he was responsible for the naming of the child as well. This happened when the nurse of the child Eurycleia "laid the child upon his knees and spoke, and addressed him: Autolycus, find now thyself a name to give to thy child's own child; be sure he has long been prayed for". Then Autolycus answered: "Since I have been angered (ὀδυσσάμενος odyssamenos) with many, both men and women, let the name of the child be Odysseus".
  • A different Autolycus was counted among the Argonauts. This Autolycus was was a Triccan prince as son of King Deimachus of Thessaly and brother of Demoleon (Deileon), Phlogius and sometimes, Phronius. Autolycus, together with his brothers, joined Heracles in his expedition against the AmazonAmazons]]. But after having gone astray, the three brothers dwelt at Sinope, until they joined the expedition of the Argonauts. Autolycus was subsequently regarded as the founder of Sinope, where he was worshipped as a god and had an oracle. After the conquest of Sinope by the Romans, his statue was carried from there by Lucullus to Rome. Hyginus confounded the brothers Autolycus, Phronius, Demoleon and Phlogius with the sons of Phrixus and Chalciope: Argus, Melas, Phrontides, and Cylindrus. These were also rescued by the Argonauts on the island of Dia.

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