Procrustes (redirected from Procustes)

Procrustes (prōkrŭs`tēz), in Greek mythology, cruel highwayman. He forced passersby to lie on a very long bed and then stretched them to fit it. Some said that he also had a very short bed; to make passersby fit this he sawed off their legs. Using Procrustes' own villainous methods, Theseus killed him.

---

Procrustes

robber; stretches or amputates limbs of victims to fit his bed. [Class. Myth.: Zimmerman, 221]

See : Brutality

---

Procrustes

made travelers fit bed by stretching or lopping off their legs. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 221]

See : Mutilation

---

Procrustes

in ancient Greek mythology, a giant robber who forced travellers to lie down on a bed, cutting off the feet of those who were longer than the bed and stretching out those who were shorter to make them fit the bed’s length; hence his name, which means “he who stretches.” Metaphorically, a “bed of Procrustes,” or “Procrustean bed,” is any artificial means of measure that has no relation to the real meaning of a phenomenon; any forcibly imposed limitation.