Agias and Dercylus are twins, in the sense that you can’t have one without the other. Though they lived in the early fourth century, these two have suffered the fate of most early mythographers – to be forgotten, or remembered only in fragments. That, and a matter of chance, are why their names are now glued together forever.
Thanks to them, we know some of the circumstances surrounding the murder of Nestor’s father by Heracles. They, unlike the mainline tradition, say that Neleus had it coming because he stole the cattle of Geryon, which Heracles had himself stolen after killing their owner. That’s the moral calculus of myth. Likymnios, on the other hand – illegitimate brother of Alcmene and therefore Heracles’ uncle – was murdered involuntarily.
Their further contributions: Harmony was the daughter of a dragon. The Eresides wash their beds for reasons that are hard to understand. Androgeos set the custom of sacrificing unwreathed to the Graces, which the Parians still follow to this day, because he heard news of his son’s death during the ritual. Fans of Gustave Moreau will be interested to know that Zeus Herkeios enjoyed the use of three eyes.