Habis (from the
Cynete language meaning
fawn
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
) is a legendary king of the Spanish region of
Tartessos. The only source of the legend of Habis and his father
Gargoris
Gargoris was a mythical king of the Cynetes, considered part of the people of Tartessos, and, according to legend, the inventor of beekeeping.
He exiled his own son, Habis, who was adopted by a female deer and saved from the sea, and who later in ...
is the work ''Epitome'' by
Justin, who copied it from the now lost work ''Philippic Histories'' by
Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus.
History
According to legend, Habis's story began when his mother was stung by a bee. Her father,
Gargoris
Gargoris was a mythical king of the Cynetes, considered part of the people of Tartessos, and, according to legend, the inventor of beekeeping.
He exiled his own son, Habis, who was adopted by a female deer and saved from the sea, and who later in ...
, the king of Tartessos, hurried to heal her. As he knelt to soften her wound with his mouth, a passion came over both, thus procreating the baby. Due to the shame of having committed
incest, the king ordered the child to be abandoned on the prairies outside the kingdom. Eventually the boy was raised by the deer in there, acquiring deer features. He was later found and recognized as the true heir to the kingdom, and later accordingly named.
References
Tartessos
Spanish_folklore
Further reading
*
{{Spain-stub