Athamas (father of Phrixus)
Also known as: Athamas · Family: Greek mythology · Role: king · First appears: Book 1 · Chapter 24
In Book 1, Chapter 24, Phrixus is identified as Athamas’s son, carried to Colchi by a ram. By Chapter 44, Athamas had killed his oldest son Learchus; Ino escaped him by throwing herself and Melicerta into the sea from the Molurian rock.
In Book 9, Chapter 34, Athamas was going to sacrifice Phrixus and Helle when a golden-fleeced ram sent by Zeus carried the children away. At Orchomenus, he laid violent hands on Learchus and Melicerta; believing he had no surviving sons, he adopted Haliartus and Coronus. The account also names Sisyphus as Athamas’s brother and identifies Erythras as his grandson.
Relationship record
Life events
- Athamas killed his oldest son Learchus.(Book 1 · Chapter 44)
- With: Learchus
- “for Learchus the oldest was killed by his father.”
- Ino escaped Athamas by throwing herself and Melicerta into the sea.(Book 1 · Chapter 44 · 📍 Molurian rock)
- A golden-fleeced ram rescued Phrixus and Helle from Athamas’s sacrifice.(Book 9 · Chapter 34 · 📍 sacred enclosure of Laphystian Zeus)
- Athamas laid violent hands on Learchus and Melicerta.(Book 9 · Chapter 34 · 📍 Orchomenus)
- Athamas adopted Haliartus and Coronus because he believed he had no surviving sons.(Book 9 · Chapter 34 · 📍 Orchomenus)
- With: Haliartus Coronus (son of Thersander)
- “Athamas thinking he had no male children left, (for he had laid violent hands on Learchus and Melicerta, and Leucon had died of some illness, and as to Phrixus he did not know whether he was alive or had left any descendant), adopted accordingly Haliartus and Coronus”
Book 1 · Chapter 24
- child: Phrixus (Athamas is Phrixus's father.) “Here too is Phrixus the son of Athamas, who was carried to Colchi by the ram.”
Book 1 · Chapter 44
- child: Learchus (Athamas is inferred to be Learchus's father from the account of his violence toward Ino and her children and the subsequent reference to escaping him.) “Athamas also is said to have acted in the same way when mad, and to have exhibited ungovernable rage to Ino and her children, thinking that the famine which befell the Orchomenians, which also apparently caused the death of Phrixus, was not the visitation of God, but a stepmother’s contrivance against them all. So she to escape him threw herself and her boy Melicerta into the sea”
Book 6 · Chapter 21
- with Erythras (interaction) “Erythras, the son of Leucon and grandson of Athamas”
- child: Leucon “Erythras, the son of Leucon and grandson of Athamas”
Book 9 · Chapter 34
- with Phrixus (Athamas intended to sacrifice Phrixus.) “when Athamas was going to sacrifice Phrixus and Helle”
- with Helle (Athamas intended to sacrifice Helle.) “when Athamas was going to sacrifice Phrixus and Helle”
- with Andreus (Athamas granted land to Andreus.) “And when Athamas came to him, he distributed to him his land in the neighbourhood of the mountain Laphystium”
- with Learchus (Athamas used violence against Learchus.) “for he had laid violent hands on Learchus and Melicerta”
- with Melicerta (Athamas used violence against Melicerta.) “for he had laid violent hands on Learchus and Melicerta”
- ward: Haliartus (Athamas adopted Haliartus.) “adopted accordingly Haliartus and Coronus, the sons of Thersander, the son of Sisyphus, who was brother of Athamas.”
- ward: Coronus (son of Thersander) (Athamas adopted Coronus.) “adopted accordingly Haliartus and Coronus, the sons of Thersander, the son of Sisyphus, who was brother of Athamas.”
- siblings with Sisyphus “Thersander, the son of Sisyphus, who was brother of Athamas.”
- child: Learchus “Athamas thinking he had no male children left, (for he had laid violent hands on Learchus and Melicerta, and Leucon had died of some illness”
- child: Melicerta “Athamas thinking he had no male children left, (for he had laid violent hands on Learchus and Melicerta, and Leucon had died of some illness”
- child: Leucon “Athamas thinking he had no male children left, (for he had laid violent hands on Learchus and Melicerta, and Leucon had died of some illness”
- child: Phrixus “and as to Phrixus he did not know whether he was alive or had left any descendant”
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Extracted from the original text of Pausanias' Description of Greece. Made with Rho MD.