Deiphontes

Deiphontes

Deiphontes was king of Argos. He was a son of Antimachus, and husband of Hyrnetho, the daughter of Temenus the Heracleide, by whom he became the father of Antimenes, Xanthippus, Argeius, and Orsobia. Deiphontes was descended from Ctesippus, the son of Heracles by Deianira.

Reign

When Temenus, in the division of Pelo­ponnesos, had obtained Argos as his share, he be­stowed all his affections upon daughter Hyrnetho and her husband Deiphontes. His sons, who had reason to sear he would appoint him his successor, are said to have hired the Titans to murder their father. According to Apollodorus, after the death of Temenus, the army, abhorring the parricides, declared Deiphontes and Hyrnetho his rightful successors.

Pausanias, however, reports a different story. According to him, after Temenus's death it was not Deiphontes that succeeded him, but Ceisus. Deiphontes, on the other hand, is said to have lived at Epidaurus, whither he went with the army which was attached to him, and from whence he expelled the Ionian king, Pityreus. His brothers-in-law, however, who begrudged him the possession of their sister Hyrnetho, went to Epidaurus, and tried to persuade her to leave her husband; and when this attempt failed, they carried her off by force. Deiphontes pursued them, and after having killed one of them, Cerynes, he wrestled with the other, Phalces, who held his sister in his arms. In this struggle, Hyr­netho was unintentionally killed by her own brother, who then escaped. Deiphontes carried her body back to Epidaurus, and there erected a sanctuary to her.

Decline and End of Monarchy at Argos

From this time the royal prerogative began to lose ground very fast. To Ceisus or Cisus succeeded Lacidamus, who had little else than the title of a king. His son Meltas, impatient of such restraint, endeavored, when it was too late, to restore it to its ancient dignity; but the people were by that time grown so powerful and headstrong, that, as soon as they found out his design, they put an effectual stop to it, and an end to kingly power, reducing the government into a democracy, and condemning their unhappy prince to death.

Sources

  • Apollodorus, 2.8.5
  • Pausanias, 2.26.2, 2.28.3
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Temenus		 King of Argos Succeeded by
Ceisus

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith (1870).


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Deiphontes — (griechisch Δηιφόντης) ist in der griechischen Mythologie der Sohn des Herakliden Antimachos und Urenkel des Herakles. Deiphontes heiratete die Hyrnetho, Tochter des Temenos, und half ihm den Thron der Temeniden in Argos aufzurichten.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • DEIPHONTES — Dux Doriensium; qui appellens ad collem, ubi conspici non posset, submisso falso speculatore, nuntiandum Argivis curavit, Dorienses esse praedatum egressos: Adversus quos Argivi desertis castris exeunt. Tunc Deiphontes cum sociis navibus egressus …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Deïphontes — Deïphontes, im griech. Mythus Sohn des Herakliden Antimachos, Gemahl der Hyrnetho, Tochter des Temenos, wurde von diesem statt dessen eigne Söhne, die ihm nach dem Leben gestellt hatten, zum Nachfolger in Argos ernannt. Nach andrer Sage gelangte… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Deiphontes — Deiphontes, ein sagenhafter König von Argolis, der sich später nach Epidaurus wandte und für seine Gattin, eine Tochter des Herakliden Temenos, Kämpfe zu bestehen hatte …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Деифонт — (Deiphontes). B греч. мифологии сын Гераклида Антимаха, муж Гирнето, дочери Темена, которому помог завоевать Аргос; за это Темен сделал его своим наследником помимо своих сыновей. По Павзанию, Темену наследовал его старший сын Кейс, а Д. с… …   Энциклопедический словарь Ф.А. Брокгауза и И.А. Ефрона

  • Hyrnetho — (griechisch Ὑρνηθώ) war in der griechischen Mythologie eine Tochter des Temenos, Königs von Argos und Enkel des Herakles. Sie war mit Deiphontes verheiratet. Ihr Vater Temenos zog diesen seinen eigenen Söhnen vor, worauf sie ihn töteten. Als …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Keisos — (griechisch Κεῖσος) war in der griechischen Mythologie der Sohn von Temenos, dem König von Argos, und der Bruder der Hyrnetho. Er war der Vater des Medon, Maron und des Phlias. Als sein Vater Temenos Deiphontes, den Gatten der Hyrnetho, als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cisus — In Greek mythology, Cisus, or Ceisus, son of Temenus, was a king of Argos. Temenus had left his kingdom to his son in law Deiphontes even though he had natural sons of his own. In consequence of this, Deiphontes was slain by the stratagems of the …   Wikipedia

  • Agelaus — or Agelaos (Ἀγέλαος) is, in Greek mythology, the name of various individuals.#Agelaus, or Agelaos, son of Damastor was a suitor of Penelope, killed by Odysseus. #Agelaus was a common herdsman (or slave of Priam) who saved the life of the Trojan… …   Wikipedia

  • Agraeus — or Agraios (Gr. polytonic|Ἀγραῖος) was the name of a number of personages from ancient myth, but was primarily known as an epithet of the god Apollo in Greek mythology,Citation | last = Schmitz | first = Leonhard | author link = | contribution =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”