Autolycus

American  

[aw-tol-i-kuhs] / ɔˈtɒl ɪ kəs /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a thief, the son of Hermes and Chione, and the grandfather of Odysseus. He possessed the power of changing the shape of whatever he stole and of making it and himself invisible.

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Autolycus ¹ British  

/ ɔːˈtɒlɪkəs /

noun

1. a crater in the NW quadrant of the moon about 38 km in diameter and 3000 m deep

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Autolycus ² British  

/ ɔːˈtɒlɪkəs /

noun

1. Greek myth a thief who stole cattle from his neighbour Sisyphus and prevented him from recognizing them by making them invisible

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Example Sentences

Herodotus was an anthropological Autolycus, a spinner of yarns from Halicarnassus, a Greek colony in Asia Minor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

Shakespeare's Restless Worldby Dr Neil MacGregor MacGregor had already proved himself a brilliant "snapper-up of unconsidered trifles", Shakespeare's description of light-fingered Autolycus in The Winter's Tale.

From The Guardian • Sep. 29, 2012

The evening’s telling final image is of the anarchic Autolycus, played with conniving bumptiousness by Brian Doherty, alone onstage.

From New York Times • Jul. 24, 2011

Lunik II, the Russians say, landed on the edge of the Sea of Serenity, near the craters Aristillus, Archimedes and Autolycus.

From Time Magazine Archive

As Ulysses was the grandson of Autolycus, the Master Thief, he often wished that the old man was with the Greeks, for if there was a thing to steal Autolycus could steal it.

From Tales of Troy and Greece by Lang, Andrew