Deiphontes (;
grc, Δηϊφόντης) was king of
Argos. He was a son of Antimachus, and husband of
Hyrnetho In Greek mythology, Hyrnetho (Ancient Greek: Ὑρνηθώ) was a daughter of Temenus, and the wife of Deiphontes, by whom she became mother of Antimenes, Xanthippus, Argeius, and Orsobia.
Temenus favored his daughter Hyrnetho and her husband Deiph ...
, the daughter of
Temenus
In Greek mythology, Temenus ( el, Τήμενος, ''Tḗmenos'') was a son of Aristomachus and brother of Cresphontes and Aristodemus.
Temenus was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and final attack on Mycenae in the ...
the Heracleide, by whom he became the father of Antimenes, Xanthippus,
Argeius, and Orsobia. Deiphontes was descended from
Ctesippus :''The name Ctesippus may also refer to a character in Plato's Euthydemus and Lysis, and to a historical figure, see Leptines and Against Leptines.''
In Greek mythology, the name Ctesippus (; Ancient Greek: Κτήσιππος means 'possessing ...
, the son of
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
by
Deianira
Deianira, Deïanira, or Deianeira (; Ancient Greek: Δηϊάνειρα, ''Dēiáneira'', or , ''Dēáneira'', ), also known as Dejanira, is a Calydonian princess in Greek mythology whose name translates as "man-destroyer" or "destroyer of her hu ...
.
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 fear he would appoint him his successor, are said to have hired the
Titans
In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...
to murder their father. According to the ''
Bibliotheca'', 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
Epidaurus ( gr, Ἐπίδαυρος) was a small city ('' polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: '' Palaia Epidavros'' and '' Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong t ...
, 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
Notes
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Kings of Argos