Abaris (mythology)
Abaris (Ancient Greek: Ἄβαρις) was a name attributed to several different men in Greek mythology:
Abaris the Caucasian
| Abaris | |
|---|---|
| a Caucasian killed by Perseus | |
| Member of the court of Cepheus | |
| Abode | Caucasus |
| Battles | Fight between Phineus and Perseus |
Abaris was a Caucasian, who was in the court of King Cepheus of Ethiopia. He was killed by the hero Perseus, along with the other Ethiopian chiefs, during his battle with Phineus, brother of the king and betrothed of Andromeda.[1]
"And next he [i.e. Perseus] slew Caucasian Abaris, and Polydaemon—from Semiramis nobly descended—and Sperchius, son, Lycetus, long-haired Elyces, unshorn, Clytus and Phlegias, the hero slew;—and trampled on the dying heaped around" (Ovid, Metamorphosis, Book 5.86)
Abaris the Dolionian
| Abaris | |
|---|---|
| a Dolionian killed by Jason | |
| Abode | Island of Cyzicus in the Propontis |
| Battles | Fight between Dolionians and the Argonauts |
Abaris was one of the Dolionians, a tribe that inhabited the southern shore of the Propontis. They were ruled by King Cyzicus who welcomed the Argonauts on their voyage to take the Golden Fleece in Colchis. After the departure of the crew of Argo, a storm drove them back to the Cyzicene coast at night. With neither the Argonauts nor King Cyzicus recognizing one another, each mistook the other as an enemy, and battle ensued. Abaris was then killed by Jason during the battle between the Dolionians and the Argonauts.[2]
"The captain himself [i.e. Jason], lord of the field and of the battle, sweeps over heads and bodies wallowing in gore, like some black storm over the deep; Zelys and Brontes and Abaris he leaves half-dead.." (Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica, Book 3.152)
Abaris in Aeneid
| Abaris | |
|---|---|
| an Ally of Turnus | |
| Abode | Territory of the Rutuli in Italy |
| Battles | Fight between Trojans and Rutuli |
In the Aeneid of Virgil, Abaris was an ally of Turnus, the man who resisted the Trojan hero, Aeneas in Italy. He was killed by Euryalus, in the battle between the Trojans and the Rutuli.[3]
"Nor was the sword of fair Euryalus less fatal found; but fiercely raging on his path of death, he pressed on through a base and nameless throng, Rhoetus, Herbesus, Fadus, Abaris.." (Vergil. Aeneid, Book 9.344)
Abaris the Hyperborean
Abaris was a legendary sage, healer, and priest of Apollo known to the Ancient Greeks.
References
- ↑ Ovid, Metamorphosis, Book 5.86 Translated By Brookes More
- ↑ Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica, Book 3.152 Translated By J. H. Mozley
- ↑ Vergil. Aeneid, Book 9.344 . Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910.