Late traditions reported in Pseudo-Apollodorus, "Bibliotheke", and by Pausanias, derive the name from an eponymous king "Lelex"; a comparable etymology, memorializing a legendary founder, is provided by Greek mythographers for virtually every tribe of Hellenes: "Lelex and the Leleges, whatever their historical significance, have acted as a blank sheet on which to draw Lakonia and all it means," observes Ken Dowden.