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 reindee ...

) is a legendary king of the Spanish region of

Tartessos Tartessos ( es, Tarteso) is, as defined by archaeological discoveries, a historical civilization settled in the region of Southern Spain characterized by its mixture of local Paleohispanic and Phoenician traits. It had a proper writing system ...

. 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 Tartessos ( es, Tarteso) is, as defined by archaeological discoveries, a historical civilization settled in the region of Southern Spain characterized by ...

is the work ''Epitome'' by

Justin Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...

, who copied it from the now lost work ''Philippic Histories'' by

Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus also anglicized as was a Gallo-Roman historian from the Celtic Vocontii tribe in Narbonese Gaul who lived during the reign of the emperor Augustus. He was nearly contemporary with Livy. Life Pompeius Trogus's grandfathe ...

History

According to legend, Habis's story began when his mother was stung by a bee. Her father,

, 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 Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

, 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

History

References

Further reading