Telephassa (; grc, Τηλέφασσα, ''Tēléphassa'', "far-shining"), also spelled Telephaassa (; ) and Telephe (; ), is a lunar epithet in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

that is sometimes substituted for Argiope the wife of Agenor, according to his name a "leader of men" in

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

, and mother of Cadmus.

Family

Telephassa was the daughter of Nilus, god of the river

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

and

Nephele In Greek mythology, Nephele (; Ancient Greek: Νεφέλη from νέφος ''nephos'' "cloud"; Latinized to ''Nubes'') was a cloud nymph who figured prominently in the story of Phrixus and Helle. Mythology Greek myth has it that Nephele is t ...

, a soft cloud Oceanid. In one account, she was a descendant of

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

herself.

Moschus Moschus ( el, Μόσχος), ancient Greek bucolic poet and student of the Alexandrian grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace, was born at Syracuse and flourished about 150 BC. Aside from his poetry, he was known for his grammatical work, nothing o ...

, ''Europa'
2.37-43
/ref> In a version of the myth, Telephe was called the daughter of Epimedusa who was otherwise unknown.Scholia on

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

, ''Phoenician Women'' 5 Telephassa had several children, including Europa,Moschus, ''Europa'
2.42
/ref>

Cilix Cilix (; Ancient Greek: Κίλιξ ''Kílix'') was, according to Greek mythology, a Phoenician prince as the son of King Agenor and Telephassa or Argiope. Etymology In her book ''Who's Who in Classical Mythology'', author Adrian Room writes an ...

, Cadmus,

Thasus In Greek mythology, Thasus or Thasos ( or ; Ancient Greek: Θάσος) was a son of PoseidonApollodorus3.1.1/ref> (or, in other versions, Agenor, Pausanias5.25.12 Scholiast on ''Euripides, Phoenissae'6/ref> PhoenixConon, ''Narrations'32/ref> o ...

, and

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. Thasus is sometimes said to be her grandchild by Cilix. Her husband was Agenor or perhaps Phoenix in a version in which Cadmus and Europa and their brothers are children of Phoenix. In the latter's version, Peirus,

Phoenice Phoenice or Phoenike ( el, Φοινίκη) was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and capital of the Chaonians.: "To the north the Chaonians had expelled the Corcyraeans from their holdings on the mainland and built fortifications at Buthrotum, K ...

and Astypale were included as Phoenix's offsprings.

Mythology

Telephassa gave to her daughter, Europa, the basket of gold which was made by

Hephaestus Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter B ...

. This gift was originally bestowed by

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

who in turn gave this to Telephassa by the account of their blood relation.

"Now Europa’s basket was of gold, an admirable thing, a great marvel and a great work of Hephaestus, given of him unto Libya the day the Earth-Shaker took her to his bed, and given of Libya unto the fair beauteous Telephassa because she was one of her own blood; and so the virgin Europa came to possess the renownèd gift, being Telephassa was her mother."

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

saw Europa gathering flowers, transformed himself into a white bull, and carried her away to the island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

. He then revealed his true identity and Europa became the first queen of Crete. Telephassa accompanied her son Cadmus on a quest to find Europa. The mother and son traveled to the islands of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

and

Thera Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera (English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the ...

before arriving in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, where Telephassa fell ill and died. "On Samothrace... the mother was called Elektra or Elektryone", Karl Kerenyi notes.Kerenyi 1959:27. After burying his mother, Cadmus was told of the oracle of Delphi by the Thracians. Upon consulting the oracle, he was advised to travel until encountering a cow. He was to follow this cow and to found a city where the cow would lie down; this city became Thebes. Cilix, Europa's other brother, also searched for her and settled down in southern

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. The land was called

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

after him.

Argive family tree

Notes

{{reflist, 2

References

* Apollodorus, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
* Kerényi, Carl, ''The Heroes of the Greeks'', Thames and Hudson, London, 1959. *

, ''Europa from'' ''The Greek Bucolic Poets'' edited by J. M. (John Maxwell) Edmonds. William Heinemann; G. P. Putnam's Sons. London; New York. 1919
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
Naiads Nymphs Children of Potamoi Queens in Greek mythology Phoenician characters in Greek mythology