Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Poemander or Poimandros () was the son of

Chaeresilaus In Greek mythology, Chaeresilaus () is solely known for having been the son of Iasius (Iasion), himself son of Eleuther. He was the brother of Astreis and the father of Poemander by Stratonice. Pausanias, 9.20.1; Plutarch, ''Quaestiones Graecae'' ...

(son of

Iasius In Greek mythology, Iasus (; Ancient Greek: Ἴασος) or Iasius (; Ἰάσιος) was the name of several people: *Iasus (Iasius), one of the Dactyli or Curetes. * Iasus, king of Argos. *Iasus, son of Io *Iasius ( Iasion), son of Eleuther ...

) and Stratonice. He was also the founder of

Tanagra Tanagra () is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The Tanagra figurines we ...

, which he named after the

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who embodied ...

, his wife and the daughter of either

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aiolos, transcribed as Aeolus (; ; ) refers to three characters. These three are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which Aeolus was which. Diodorus Siculus m ...

Asopus Asopus (; ''Āsōpos'') is the name of four different rivers in Greece and one in Turkey. In Greek mythology, it was also the name of the God (male deity), gods of those rivers. Zeus carried off Aegina (mythology), Aegina, Asopus' daughter, and ...

. They had two sons,

Leucippus Leucippus (; , ''Leúkippos''; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. He is traditionally credited as the founder of atomism, which he developed with his student Democritus. Leucippus divided the world into two entities: atoms, indivisible ...

and Ephippus, the father of Acestor. Because Tanagra was founded by him, it was called Poemandria.

Mythology

Poemander was besieged by the Achaeans in a place called Stephon, for having refused to support them in the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

. At night, he managed to escape and began to fortify

Poemandria Tanagra () is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The Tanagra figurines wer ...

. His fortifications, however, were made fun of by the architect Polycritus, who leaped over the ditch in derision. Poemander, outraged, threw a stone at him, but missed and hit his own son Leucippus instead, who died of the injury. For the murder, in accordance with the law, Poemander had to leave Boeotia, which was not easy for him, since the land of Tanagra had been invaded by the Achaeans; moreover, his mother Stratonice was carried off by

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

, who also killed his grandson Acestor. But Ephippus, sent by Poemander to beg for aid, brought Achilles,

Tlepolemus In Greek mythology, Tlepolemus (; ) was the leader of the Rhodian forces in the Trojan War.Homer, ''Iliad'2.653–70 Family Tlepolemus was a son of Heracles and Astyoche, daughter of Phylas, king of Ephyra. Though some sources say that his ...

and

Peneleos In Greek mythology, Peneleos ( ''Pēneléōs'') or, less commonly, Peneleus ( ''Pēnéleos''), son of Hippalcimus ( Hippalmus) and Asterope, was an Achaean soldier in the Trojan War. Mythology Before the war began he was said to have sailed ...

to his father; they escorted Poemander to

Elephenor In Greek mythology, Elephenor ( ''Elephḗnōr'', ''-oros'') was the king of the Abantes of Euboea. Family Elephenor was the son of Chalcodon by either Imenarete, Melanippe or Alcyone.Apollodorus, E.3.11; Tzetzes, ''Allegories of the Iliad ...

, who cleansed him for the murder of Leucippus.

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, ''Quaestiones Graecae'' 37

Mythology

References

Further reading