Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, Actis (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

: Ἀκτίς) was one of the

Heliadae In Greek mythology, the Heliadae or Heliadai (; grc, Ἡλιάδαι) were the seven sons of Helios and Rhodos and grandsons of Poseidon. They were brothers to Electryone. Biography They were Ochimus, Cercaphus, Macareus (or Macar), Actis, ...

, a son of

Rhodos In Greek mythology, Rhodos/Rhodus () or Rhode (), was the goddess and personification of the island of Rhodes and a wife of the sun god Helios. Parentage Various parents were given for Rhodos. Pindar makes her a daughter of Aphrodite with no ...

and Helios. Actis, along with his brothers,

Triopas In Greek mythology, Triopas () or Triops (; grc, Τρίωψ, gen.: Τρίοπος) was the name of several characters whose relations are unclear. * Triopas, king of Argos and son of Phorbas. His daughter was Messene. * Triopas, king of Thessa ...

Macar In Greek mythology, Macar (; Ancient Greek: Μάκαρ ''Makar'') or Macareus (; Μακαρεύς ''Makareus'' means 'happy') or Macareas (, ''Makareas''), is the name of several individuals: * Macareus, an Arcadian prince as one of the 50 sons ...

, and

Candalus In Greek mythology, Candalus (Ancient Greek: Κάνδαλος ''Kándalos'') was one of the Heliadae, a son of Rhodos and Helios. Candalus, along with his brothers, Triopas, Macar and Actis, were jealous of another brother, Tenages, and so they mu ...

, were jealous of a fifth brother,

Tenages In Greek mythology, Tenages or Tenage ( grc, Τενάγης, Τενάγη ''Tenágēs'', ''Tenágē'') was one of the Heliadae, a son of Rhodos and Helios. He was murdered by his brothers, Actis, Triopas, Macar and Candalus, who were envious o ...

's, skill at science. They killed him and Actis escaped to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. According to Diodorus Siculus, Actis built the city of Heliopolis in

to honour his father Helios, and it was from Actis that the Egyptians learned

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

. Diodorus Siculus, 5.57

Notes

References

* Diodorus Siculus, ''The Library of History'' translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8
Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
* Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2''. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888–1890
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
Children of Helios {{Greek-myth-stub Demigods in classical mythology Rhodian characters in Greek mythology Characters in Greek mythology