Cercyon

Cercyon is a figure in Greek mythology best known as a violent wrestler who terrorized travelers on the road near Eleusis in Attica. According to myth, he challenged passers-by to wrestling matches and killed them when defeated. Theseus, on his way to Athens, accepted Cercyon's challenge and killed him, reportedly using the opponent’s own technique against him. In various accounts Cercyon is described as a king or strongman of the region around Eleusis or Megara, with differing details about his parentage and status.

In biology, Cercyon is a genus of water scavenger beetles in the family Hydrophilidae. Members of the genus are aquatic or semiaquatic and typically inhabit freshwater habitats such as ponds, marshes, and slow-moving streams. They range in size and appearance but are generally small to medium-sized, with morphological traits that distinguish them from related genera. The genus comprises multiple species and is distributed in many parts of the world, contributing to the ecological role of detritivores and scavengers in aquatic ecosystems.

The name Cercyon thus appears in both classical literature and modern taxonomy, reflecting its use across diverse fields.