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 ...

, Iamus (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Ἴαμος) was the son of

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and Evadne, a daughter of

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

, raised by Aepytus. In a story told by

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

, after his mother lies with Apollo and the child is born, he is left in the wilderness. Here he is raised by a pair of snakes, before being found again after Aepytus upon his visit to the

Oracle of Delphi An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophecy, prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by Deity, deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divina ...

. Iamus was later taken to Olympia by his father, who teaches him ability of prophecy. He was said to be the ancestor of the Iamidae, a family of seers that operated in Olympia.

Descendants

He is said to have been the ancestor of Iamidae, a lineage of seers that operated in Olympia. Their main method of reading the future was through the use of a sacrificial fire. According to Pausanias, their tomb existed in

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

; they are also known to have been present in Messene and Mantinea.

Mythology

In the sixth ''Olympian Ode'' by the 5th-century BC poet Pindar, Evadne lies with Apollo and becomes pregnant, but is shamed by Aepytus for her pregnancy. When it was time for the child to be born, Apollo sends down Eileithyia and the

Moirai In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Moirai ()often known in English as the Fateswere the personifications of fate, destiny. They were three sisters: Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (mythology), Lachesis (the allotter ...

(Fates) to assist Evadne. After giving birth, she abandons the child in the wild out of distress. The child survives, as he is nourished by two snakes, who feed him a harmless kind of venom produced by bees. When Aepytus learns from the Delphic Oracle that the new born was sired by Apollo himself, and was destined to be a great prophet, he orders for the child to be brought back into the house. The infant is found alive lying among violets, and is named "Iamus" by Evadne. When he reached his youth, Iamus descended into the waters of Alpheios and invoked Poseidon, his grandfather, and Apollo, his father, asking them to reveal his destiny to him. Only Apollo answered his prayer, and appearing to him, took him to Olympia. There, Apollo taught him the art of prophecy and gave him the power to understand and explain the voices of birds. Pausanias, 4.2.3.

Notes

References

* Graf, Fritz, "Iamus", in '' Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 6'', Hat – Jus, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2005. . * Pausanias, ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1918
Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''Odes'', Diane Arnson Svarlien, 1990
Perseus Digital LibraryToposText

Descendants

Mythology

Notes

References

Further reading