Nicostratus

In Greek mythology, Nicostratus (Ancient Greek: Νικόστρατος) is a son of Menelaus, king of Mycenaean Sparta. He was known to Hesiod and epic poet Cinaethon. His name means 'Victorious Army' and suggests that his birth came after the Trojan War. Family Nicostratus' mother was either Menelaus' wife Helen of Troy, or a slave. Although in Homer's Odyssey, the only child of Menelaus and Helen is Hermione, other sources also mention a son Nicostratus. The mythographer Apollodorus says that "Menelaus had by Helen a daughter Hermione and, according to some (κατά τινας), a son Nicostratus", while a scholia on Sophocles' Electra quotes Hesiod as saying "She [Helen] bore Hermione to spear-famed Menelaus, and last of all she bore Nicostratus, scion of Ares". However, according to the geographer Pausanias, Nicostratus, and Megapenthes were sons of Menelaus by a slave, and that because they were illegitimate, Agamemnon's son Orestes succeeded Menelaus as king of Sparta. One account mentioned that Nicostratus and Aithiolas, two sons of Helen, were worshipped by the Lacedaemonians.