In Greek mythology, the Telchines ( grc, Τελχῖνες, ''Telkhines'') were the original inhabitants of the island of Rhodes and were known in Crete and Cyprus.

Family

Their parents were either Pontus and

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenog ...

or Tartarus and

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The n ...

or else they were born from the blood of castrated Uranus, along with the

Erinyes The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes ...

. Tzetzes on '' Theogony'' 80 with Bacchylides as the authority for Telchines' parentage, being sons of Nemesis and Tartarus. In another story, there were nine Telchines, children of Thalassa

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, ''

Bibliotheca historica ''Bibliotheca historica'' ( grc, Βιβλιοθήκη Ἱστορική, ) is a work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus. It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, ...

'' 5.55.1 and Pontus; they had flippers instead of hands and the heads of dogs and were known as fish children. Eustathius on Homer, p. 771 In some accounts, Poseidon was described as the Telchines' father. Nonnus, ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' {{IPAc-en, ˌ, d, aɪ, ., ə, ., n, ᵻ, ˈ, z, aɪ, ., ə, ., k, ə ( grc-gre, Διονυσιακά, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest survi ...

'' 14.36 ff

Names

The following individual names are attested in various sources: Damon (

Demonax Demonax ( el, Δημώναξ, ''Dēmōnax'', ''gen''.: Δημώνακτος; c. AD 70 – c. 170) was a Greek Cynic philosopher. Born in Cyprus, he moved to Athens, where his wisdom, and his skill in solving disputes, earned him the admiration of ...

); Mylas; Atabyrius; Antaeus ( Actaeus), Megalesius, Ormenos ( Hormenus), Lycus, Nicon and Mimon'; Chryson, Argyron and

Chalcon In Greek mythology, the name Chalcon (Χάλκων) may refer to: *Chalcon, one of the Telchines. *Chalcon, a Myrmidonian, father of Bathycles who was killed by Glaucus in the Trojan War. *Chalcon, father of a daughter Antiochis who, in one versio ...

. Known female Telchines were Makelo, Dexithea (one of Damon's daughters),

Halia Halie or Halia (Ancient Greek: Ἁλίη or Ἁλία ''Haliê'' means 'the dweller in the sea' or 'the briney'Banep. 172/ref>) is the name of the following characters in Greek mythology: * Halie, the "ox-eyed" Nereid, sea-nymph daughter of the ' ...

and probably Lysagora (the attesting text is severely damaged). Bacchylides, fr. 1

Roles

Ministers of gods

The Telchines were regarded as the cultivators of the soil and ministers of the gods and as such they came from Crete to Cyprus and from thence to Rhodes

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

, ''

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Ancient Greek, Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen ...

'' 14.2.7 or they proceeded from Rhodes to Crete and Boeotia. Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio'' 9.19.1 Rhodes, and in it the three towns of Cameirus, Ialysos, and

Lindos Lindos (; grc-gre, Λίνδος) is an archaeological site, a fishing village and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it ...

(whence the Telchines are called ''Ialysii''), which was their principal seat and was named after them Telchinis (

Sicyon Sicyon (; el, Σικυών; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyon was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea on the territory of the present-day regional unit of Corinthia. An ancient mona ...

also was called ''Telchinia'') and by some accounts, their children were highly worshiped as gods in the said three ancient Rhodian towns. The Telchines abandoned their homes because they foresaw that the island would be inundated and thence they scattered in different directions; Lycus went to Lycia, where he built the temple of the Lycian Apollo. This god had been worshiped by them at Lindos (Apollôn Telchinios) and

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

at Ialysos and Cameiros (Hêra telchinia);Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca historica'' 5.55.2 and Athena at

Teumessus Teumessus or Teumessos ( grc, Τευμησσός) was a town in ancient Boeotia, situated in the plain of Thebes, upon a low rocky hill of the same name. The name of this hill appears to have been also given to the range of mountains separating the ...

in Boeotia bore the surname of Telchinia. Nymphs also are called after them Telchiniae.

Sorcerers and demons

The Telchines were also regarded as wizards and envious daemons. Their very eyes and aspect were said to have been destructive. They had it in their power to bring on hail, rain, and snow, and to assume any form they pleased; they further produced a substance poisonous to living things. Thus, they were called Alastores for supervising the ceaseless wanderings of people and Palamnaioi for pouring the water of Styx with their palms and hands in order to make the fields infertile. The Telchines were described to have stings and being rough as the echinoid and thus, their names ''teliochinous'' that is “having a poisonous ''telos'' like an echinoid”.

Artists

The Telchines were said to have invented useful arts and institutions which were useful to mankind and to have made images of the gods. Telchines were regarded as excellent metallurgists; various accountsDiodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca historica'' 5.55.5 ff state that they were skilled metal workers in brass and iron and made a trident for Poseidon and a sickle for

Cronus In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or , from el, Κρόνος, ''Krónos'') was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and ...

, both ceremonial weapons. Together with their help and the Cyclopes, the smith god Hephaestus forged the cursed necklace of Harmonia. Because of their excellent workmanship, the Telchines were maligned by rival workmen and thus received their bad reputation. This last feature in the character of the Telchines seems to have been the reason of their being put together with the

Idaean Dactyls In Greek mythology, the Dactyls or Daktyloi (; from grc, Δάκτυλοι ''Dáktuloi'' "fingers") were the archaic mythical race of male beings associated with the Great Mother, whether as Cybele or Rhea. Their numbers vary, but often they wer ...

and

even states that those of the nine Rhodian Telchines who accompanied Rhea to Crete brought up the infant Zeus and were called Curetes. The Telchines were associated and sometimes confused with the Cyclopes, Dactyls, and Curetes.

Mythology

The Telchines were entrusted by Rhea with the upbringing of Poseidon, which they accomplished with the aid of Capheira, one of

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus (; grc-gre, , Ancient Greek pronunciation: , also Ὠγενός , Ὤγενος , or Ὠγήν ) was a Titan son of Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys, and the father of the river gods a ...

' daughters. Another version says that Rhea accompanied them to Crete from Rhodes, where nine of the Telchines, known as the Curetes, were selected to bring up Zeus. However, in other versions of the tale, Rhea, Apollo, and Zeus were described as hostile to the Telchines. The gods ( Zeus, Poseidon or Apollo) eventually killed them because they began to use magic for malignant purposes;Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 7.365 ff particularly, they produced a mixture of Stygian water and sulfur, which killed animals and plants (according to Nonnus, they did so as revenge for being driven out of Rhodes by the Heliadae). Accounts vary on how exactly they were destroyed: by flood or Zeus's thunderbolt Pindar, ''Paean'' 5 or Poseidon's tridentNonnus, ''Dionysiaca'' 18.35 or else Apollo assumed the shape of a wolf to kill them. They apparently lost the Titanomachy, the battle between the gods and the Titans. Ovid in his '' Ibis'' mentions that Makelo, like the other Telchines, was killed with a thunderbolt; according to Callimachus and Nonnus, however, Makelo was the only one to be spared. According to Bacchylides, the survivor is Dexithea. Bacchylides also mentions that Dexithea later had a son Euxanthios by

Minos In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten ...

.Confirmed by the account of Pseudo-

Apollodorus Apollodorus (Ancient Greek, Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: ...

, '' Bibliotheca'' 3. 1. 2 This Euxanthios is also known from Pindar's works. In rare accounts, the Telchines were originally the dogs of

Actaeon Actaeon (; grc, Ἀκταίων ''Aktaion''), in Greek mythology, son of the priestly herdsman Aristaeus and Autonoe in Boeotia, was a famous Theban hero. Like Achilles in a later generation, he was trained by the centaur Chiron. He fell to ...

, who were changed into men.

Genealogy

Notes

References

, ''The Library of History'' translated by

Charles Henry Oldfather Charles Henry Oldfather (13 June 1887 – 20 August 1954) was an American professor of history of the ancient world, specifically at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born in Tabriz, Persia. Parentage Oldfather's parents, Jeremiah and Fe ...

. Twelve volumes.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...

. 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
*

John Tzetzes John Tzetzes ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who is known to have lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He was able to p ...

, ''Book of Histories,'' Book VII-VIII translated by Vasiliki Dogani from the original Greek of T. Kiessling's edition of 1826.
Online version at theio.com
*

, ''Book of Histories,'' Book XII-XIII translated by Nikolaos Giallousis from the original Greek of T. Kiessling's edition of 1826.
Online version at theio.com
* Maurus Servius Honoratus, ''In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii;'' recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Nonnus of Panopolis, ''Dionysiaca'' translated by William Henry Denham Rouse (1863-1950), from the Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1940.
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Nonnus of Panopolis, ''Dionysiaca. 3 Vols.'' W.H.D. Rouse. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1940-1942
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pseudo-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
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Publius Papinius Statius'', The Thebaid'' translated by John Henry Mozley. Loeb Classical Library Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Publius Papinius Statius, ''The Thebaid. Vol I-II''. John Henry Mozley. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1928
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
*

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

, ''Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum quae supersunt,'' edited by August Meineike (1790-1870), published 1849. A few entries from this important ancient handbook of place names have been translated by Brady Kiesling
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*

, ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Strabo, ''Geographica'' edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
{{Authority control Ancient tribes in Rhodes Greek mythological witches Legendary tribes in Greco-Roman historiography Rhodian characters in Greek mythology