Battus I of Cyrene (), also known as Battius the Lacedaemonian and Battus Aristotle (Βάττος Ἀριστοτέλης) and Aristaeus (Ἀρισταῖος) was the founder ( Oikistes) of the Ancient Greek colony of Cyrene. He was its first king, the first Greek king in Africa and the founder of the Battiad dynasty. The butterfly '' Battus philenor'' is named after him. Background Battus was born on the Greek island of Thera. What is known of Battus’ family background is from the Greek historian Herodotus. His father, Polymnestus, was a Therean nobleman; Herodotus reports that the Cyrenes identify his mother as Phronima, daughter of Etearchus or Eteachos by his first wife, was King of Oaxus (a city on the Greek island of Crete).Herodotus, ''History'', iv.154f; English translation in Aubrey de Sélincourt, ''Herodotus: The Histories'' (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1963), p. 294 Phronima’s stepmother (whose name is also unknown) did everything to torment Phronima, most no ...