Cres (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Cres (Ancient Greek: Κρής Kres, gen. Κρητός) was a possible eponym of the island Crete. Stephanus of Byzantium distinguishes between two figures of this name: one was a son of Zeus and the nymph Idaea, and the other a Cretan autochthon who became the first ruler of Crete.[1] According to Cinaethon of Sparta, Cres was the father of Talos.[2]
Mythology
The autochthonous Cres is mentioned in other accounts as the native king of a whole earth-born nation, the
Eteocretans ("true Cretans"),[3] and the inventor of a number of items that were crucial for the development of the human civilization.[4] He was said to be one of the Curetes.[5]
According to a tradition recorded by Stephanus, it was during Cres' reign that
Tyrrhenia.[6] A daughter of Cres (or Cretheus) was married by the foreigner and bore him a son Asterion who later became the husband of Europa and adopted father of her sons by Zeus.[7]
Several authors identified Cres as one of the
Curetes, possibly their king,[8] and therefore a caretaker of the young Zeus who was hidden by him in a cave on Crete.[9]
See also
Notes
- ^ Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Krētē; St. Jerome, Chronicon B1962 & B1887
- ^ Cited in Pausanias, 8.53.5
- ^ Pseudo-Scymnos, Circuit de la terre 535 ff.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, 5.64.1
- ^ St. Jerome, Chronicon B1957
- ^ Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Dōrion
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, 4.60.2
- ^ Anaximander in Solinus, 11.5
- ^ Arrian in Eustathius on Dionysius Periegetes, 498
References
- Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. 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.
- Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Stephanus of Byzantium, 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.
This article includes a list of Greek mythological figures with the same or similar names. If an internal link for a specific Greek mythology article referred you to this page, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended Greek mythology article, if one exists.