Crotopus or Krotopos ( grc, Κρότωπος), 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 of ...

, was the eighth king of Argos.

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christ ...

''. Praeparatio evangelica
10.9.8; 10.11.2, 10.12.1-3
Chronography
66
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Family

Crotopus was the son of

Agenor Agenor (; Ancient Greek: Ἀγήνωρ or Αγήνορας ''Agēnor''; English translation: "heroic, manly") was in Greek mythology and history a Phoenician king of Tyre or Sidon. The Doric Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–425 BC), born in ...

and father of Psamathe and Sthenelas.

Mythology

According to myth, Crotopus condemned to death his own daughter Psamathe, after she gave birth to a child who was

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

's son. Crotopus's city of Argos was consequently punished by Apollo with a plague. There are various versions, but it is in

Conon Conon ( el, Κόνων) (before 443 BC – c. 389 BC) was an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War, who led the Athenian naval forces when they were defeated by a Peloponnesian fleet in the crucial Battle of Aegospotami; later he ...

's account that the king must expiate this himself by self-exile: Crotopus was a terrifying father to Psamathe, and she exposed the child, but the child was found and grew up as a shepherd's boy named Linus, until Crotopus's sheepdogs tore the boy apart. As Psamathe grieved over the loss of her child, Crotopus discovered about the secret child, and under the assumption she had acted like a harlot and was lying about Apollo, sentenced her to death. In retribution Apollo brought an unspecified plague ( el, λοιμός ) upon Argos. ;Festival for Linos An oracle prescribed the veneration of the mother and child, and the Argives held a Festival of Argis (Lamb festival) during the month of Arneios, involving women and girls singing the dirge to Linus (Linos) and the ritualized killing of dogs. ;Tripodiscium Despite this, the plague persisted. The oracle was consulted once again, and this time Crotopus was to banish himself from his own city of Argos and found a city in the Megarid; Crotopus settled here, in the city which would be named Tripodiscium (Greek: Tripodiskion). ;Variant tellings Other versions, such as given by Pausanias and

Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; ; ) was a Greco-Roman poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving Latin poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the '' Thebaid''; a collection of occasional poetr ...

interpolate the labors of a hero from Argos named Coroebus. In those versions, Apollo first sends a monster (called

Poena In Greek mythology, Poena or Poine () is the spirit of punishment and the attendant of punishment to Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution. Sometimes mentioned as one being, and sometimes in the plural as Poenai (Ποιναί) and are akin t ...

that snatches babies from the Argives. It is slain by this hero, who must then perform the penance of building the tripod city (which in Conon's version was carried out by Crotopus). Pausanias, translated by Jones, W.H.S.; Ormerod, H.A., ', 1. 43. 7 - 8

Reign

According to

, Crotopus reigned for 21 years and during his time, Phaethon's burning of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

and Deucalion's flood in

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

occurred. Crotopus succeeded his uncle

Iasus 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 ...

as King of Argos upon

's death while Sthenelas, his son replaced him on the throne.

Modern allusions

A species of butterfly, Euselasia Crotopus is possibly named after him.

Explanatory notes

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * Kings of Argos Princes in Greek mythology Inachids {{Greek-myth-stub