On Unbelievable Stories (37)

What’s said about Ketos [‘the sea monster’] is that he would periodically emerge from the sea at Troy. If they gave it girls to eat, it would go away, but if they didn’t, it would ravage their land. But it’s naive for people to make pacts with fish – who doesn’t know that?

This is what happened. There was a great king – very powerful and with a large navy – who subjugated the whole coast of Asia. Those subjugated to him paid taxes which they called ‘tribute’. The people of that time did not use currency but paid in goods. From some cities he demanded horses, from others, cattle, and from others, girls. This king’s name was actually Keton, but those who could not speak Greek called him ‘Ketos’. He would sail around demanding the tribute at the appointed time and destroy the land of whoever did not hand it over.

At one of these times, Heracles arrived at Troy with an army of Greeks. King Laomedon paid him to help the Trojans. Keton unloaded his troops and advanced on foot. When Heracles and Laomedon, each with his own army, met him in battle, they killed him. And the myth was fabricated from this event.