Taras (mythology)

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A coin of the ancient Magna Graecia city of Taras, with Taras riding a dolphin.
A coin of the ancient Magna Graecia city of Taras, with Taras riding a dolphin.

Taras (Τάρας) was, according to Greek mythology, the son of Poseidon and of the nymph Satyrion.

Taras is the eponymous founder of the Greek colony of Taras (Tarentum, modern Taranto), in Magna Graecia. Note that a harbour close by Taranto is still called Torre Saturo (derived from Satyrion). It was in Torre Saturo, almost 15 km south of Taranto, that Spartan colonists settled their first colony in Taranto zone. Later, around 706 BC, they conquered the Iapygian city of Taranto.

On the coinage of the ancient city of Taras, the son of Poisedon is depicted on a dolphin, sometimes with his father's trident in one hand; the same image is depicted on the modern city emblem.