Iarbas (or Hiarbas) was a legendary Libyan/

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

figure, who was mentioned by the Greek philosopher and historian

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

as well as in works by various Roman authors including

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

and

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

. The character is possibly based on a real historical king of

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

"Iarbas was the first being begotten, that he was born in the parched plain, and that he seized (to feed) the sweet acorn of Jupiter."- Plutarch

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

and Libyan mythology, Iarbas was the son of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

- Hammon ( Hammon was a North African god associated by the Romans with

, and known for his oracle) and a Garamantian

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

. Iarbas was said to have led an army across the Libyan desert, however he and his army began suffering from severe thirst. Iarbas implored for the assistance of his father

Ammon Ammon (; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; '; ) was an ancient Semitic languages, Semitic-speaking kingdom occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Wadi Mujib, Arnon and Jabbok, in present-d ...

for aid, the god sent him a

ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

(the animal of the god) and Iarbas and his army followed the ram to a location, where, the ram struck his hooves to the ground and up sprang a water source, and this is how the libyans began attributing the animal to Amun (

libyans Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, Ethnic group, ethnicity, and Religion in Libya, religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the Uni ...

origin of the cult of ram worship). Iarbas became the king of Getulia. According to

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'', he was the prince suitor for the Carthaginian queen

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...

, Iarbas comments that Carthage is a city of pitiful size and tells Dido how glorious the city could rise from an important marriage with him an infinitly powerful king and a son of Ammon, she however rejected his advances, he then completely drops out of the story after the rejection Variations of the story were referred to by

. In Ovid's '' Heroides'', Dido describes Iarbas as one of her suitors, her own people arranged a forced marriage between her and king Iarbas so that Carthage may rise to glory Aeneas would be handing her over as a captive if he should leave her she told him, however Aeneas leaves her bitterly to found Rome and she takes her own life from grief of separation. In Ovid's ''

Fasti In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simi ...

'', Iarbas and the Numidians take over Dido's land after her suicide, resulting in his capturing her palace.

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

, and Pompeius Trogus also tell versions of the myth; in

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

's epitome of Pompeius he is king of the Muxitani.

Silius Italicus Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (, c. 26 – c. 101 AD) was a Roman senator, orator and epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is the 17-book '' Punica'', an epic poem about the Second Punic War and the ...

, in his epic poem ''

Punica ''Punica'' is a small genus of fruit-bearing deciduous shrubs or small trees in the flowering plant family Lythraceae. The better known species is the pomegranate (''Punica granatum''). The other species, the Socotra pomegranate ('' Punica prot ...

'' borrows the name of Hiarbas for one of his characters.Martin T. Dinter, "Epitaphic Gestures in Statius and Silius Italicus", in Antony Augoustakis (ed.), ''Ritual and Religion in Flavian Epic'' (Oxford University Press, ), pp. 267–286, at 277. Hiarbas is the Gately leader of the Gaetuli, Nasamones and Macae and the father of Asbyte, one of the Carthaginian leaders in the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

. He traces his ancestry back to

. He is killed by the Saguntine hero Murrus. Iarbas is briefly referenced in

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's ''

Purgatorio ''Purgatorio'' (; Italian for "Purgatory") is the second part of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', following the ''Inferno (Dante), Inferno'' and preceding the ''Paradiso (Dante), Paradiso''; it was written in the early 14th century. It is an alleg ...

'' as owning part of the land south of Italy. Iarbas is also a character in Christopher Marlowe's play '' Dido, Queen of Carthage''.

References

{{Aeneid Characters in the Aeneid Kingdom of Numidia Africa in Roman mythology Children of Zeus