Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Taphius (

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 p ...

: Τάφιος) founded the city Taphos on the island of the same name, and was its king. He also gave his name to the Taphians, a people that inhabited Taphos and nearby islands, which formed part of Odysseus's kingdom at the time of the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...

Family

According to one genealogy, Taphius was the son of

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

and Hippothoë (daughter of

Mestor In Greek mythology, Mestor (; Ancient Greek: Μήστωρ means "adviser" or "counsellor") was the name of four men. * Mestor, a Mycenaean prince. He was the son of Perseus and Andromeda and thus, brother of Perses, Alcaeus, Heleus, Sthenelus ...

, son of Perseus). However, according to another (more plausible) genealogy, Taphius's father was

Pterelaus The name Pterelaus (; Ancient Greek: Πτερέλαος) is attributed to two related individuals in Greek mythology: * Pterelaus, son of King Lelex of Megara * Pterelaus, son of Taphius.Apollodorus2.4.5/ref> Notes References *Apollodorus ...

, the son of

Lelex In Greek mythology, Lelex (; Ancient Greek: Λέλεξ, ''gen.'' Λέλεγος) was one of the original inhabitants of Laconia which was called after him, its first king, Lelegia. Mythology Lelex was said to be autochthonous or his father ...

, who ruled in Acarnania. Both versions agree that Taphius had a son, also called

('Pterelaus II') who was immortalized Poseidon by planting a golden hair in his head.

Mythology

Hippothoe was carried off by the god who brought her to the

Echinadian Islands The Echinades (; Greek: per Herodotus, Thucydides, and Strabo, per Homer Echinae (, it, Curzolari) are a group of islands in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Acarnania, Greece. The archipelago is commonly subdivided into three groups: the Drakon ...

where he had intercourse with her. There she conceived Taphius who colonized Taphos and called the people Teleboans, because he had gone far from his native land (“telou ebē” τηλοῦ ἔβη means “''he went far”)''. Apollodorus
2.4.5
/ref>

Notes

References

* Apollodorus, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
Kings in Greek mythology Children of Poseidon Perseid dynasty {{Greek-myth-stub