In Greek mythology King Echetus was the cruel king of Epirus. He is mentioned in Book 18 of Homer's Odyssey, and is described as the "destroyer of all mortals" by Antinous (one of the suitors). It is thought that he was a mythological creation, used to scare disobedient children or used as the villain in bedtime stories. An alternate theory is that Echetus was a real king around the time of Homer, and that he was quite deformed and possibly a cannibal; no evidence currently exists to support this theory, however.