Agenor (
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
: , gen.: Ἀγήνορος;
English translationEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
: "heroic, manly") was in
Greek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
and history a
PhoeniciaPhoenicia what is now modern day Lebanon, was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and Palestine...
n
kingA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
of Tyre. His wife was
TelephassaIn Greek mythology, Telephassa is a lunar epithet like Telephae that is sometimes substituted for Argiope, the wife of Agenor, according to his name a "leader of men" in Phoenicia, and mother of Cadmus. In some versions she is the daughter of Nilus, god of the Nile...
.
HerodotusHerodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
estimates that Agenor lived sometime before the year 2000 B.C.
Some sources state that Agenor was the son of
PoseidonIn Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...
and
LibyaLibya is the name given to both a region of North Africa and a daughter of Epaphus, King of Egypt, in both Greek and Roman mythology.-Greek mythology:...
; these accounts refer to a brother named
BelusIn Greek mythology, Belus was the son of Poseidon and Libya. He was a king of Egypt and father of Aegyptus and Danaus and brother to Agenor.-Genealogy:...
. According to other sources, he was the son of Belus and
AchiroeAchiroë or Anchirrhoë , or according to Apollodorus Anchinoë , which is perhaps a mistake for Anchiroë, was in Greek mythology a naiad, a daughter of the river-god Nilus. She was also the wife of Belus, by whom she became the mother of Aegyptus and Danaus, and, according to some accounts, ...
.
Sources differ also as to Agenor's children; he is sometimes said to have been the father, by
TelephassaIn Greek mythology, Telephassa is a lunar epithet like Telephae that is sometimes substituted for Argiope, the wife of Agenor, according to his name a "leader of men" in Phoenicia, and mother of Cadmus. In some versions she is the daughter of Nilus, god of the Nile...
, of
CadmusCadmus or Kadmos , in Phoenician and Greek mythologies, was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa. He was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores of...
,
EuropaEuropa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage in Greek mythology, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The story of her abduction by Zeus in the form of a white bull was a Cretan story, as Kerényi points out; "most of the love-stories concerning Zeus originated...
,
CilixIn Greek mythology, Cilix was a son of Agenor and brother of Cadmus and Europa. His father was either Agenor or Phoenix, son of Agenor.Zeus saw Europa gathering flowers and immediately fell in love with her. Zeus transformed himself into a white bull and carried Europa away to the island of Crete....
,
PhoenixIn Homer's Iliad, Phoenix , son of Amyntor, is one of the Myrmidons led by Achilles who along with Odysseus and Ajax urges Achilles to re-enter battle. He gives the most passionate speech of the three...
, and
ThasusThasus , a son of Poseidon, or Cilix or Agenor, was one of those who set out from Phoenicia in search of Europa, and thus founded the town of Thasos on the homonym island.-References:*Herod, ii. 44, vi. 47 ; Paus. v. 25. § 7 ; Apollod. iii. 1. § 1.) [L. S.]...
.
Agenor (
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
: , gen.: Ἀγήνορος;
English translationEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
: "heroic, manly") was in
Greek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
and history a
PhoeniciaPhoenicia what is now modern day Lebanon, was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and Palestine...
n
kingA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
of Tyre. His wife was
TelephassaIn Greek mythology, Telephassa is a lunar epithet like Telephae that is sometimes substituted for Argiope, the wife of Agenor, according to his name a "leader of men" in Phoenicia, and mother of Cadmus. In some versions she is the daughter of Nilus, god of the Nile...
.
HerodotusHerodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
estimates that Agenor lived sometime before the year 2000 B.C.
Genealogy
Some sources state that Agenor was the son of
PoseidonIn Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...
and
LibyaLibya is the name given to both a region of North Africa and a daughter of Epaphus, King of Egypt, in both Greek and Roman mythology.-Greek mythology:...
; these accounts refer to a brother named
BelusIn Greek mythology, Belus was the son of Poseidon and Libya. He was a king of Egypt and father of Aegyptus and Danaus and brother to Agenor.-Genealogy:...
. According to other sources, he was the son of Belus and
AchiroeAchiroë or Anchirrhoë , or according to Apollodorus Anchinoë , which is perhaps a mistake for Anchiroë, was in Greek mythology a naiad, a daughter of the river-god Nilus. She was also the wife of Belus, by whom she became the mother of Aegyptus and Danaus, and, according to some accounts, ...
.
Sources differ also as to Agenor's children; he is sometimes said to have been the father, by
TelephassaIn Greek mythology, Telephassa is a lunar epithet like Telephae that is sometimes substituted for Argiope, the wife of Agenor, according to his name a "leader of men" in Phoenicia, and mother of Cadmus. In some versions she is the daughter of Nilus, god of the Nile...
, of
CadmusCadmus or Kadmos , in Phoenician and Greek mythologies, was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa. He was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores of...
,
EuropaEuropa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage in Greek mythology, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The story of her abduction by Zeus in the form of a white bull was a Cretan story, as Kerényi points out; "most of the love-stories concerning Zeus originated...
,
CilixIn Greek mythology, Cilix was a son of Agenor and brother of Cadmus and Europa. His father was either Agenor or Phoenix, son of Agenor.Zeus saw Europa gathering flowers and immediately fell in love with her. Zeus transformed himself into a white bull and carried Europa away to the island of Crete....
,
PhoenixIn Homer's Iliad, Phoenix , son of Amyntor, is one of the Myrmidons led by Achilles who along with Odysseus and Ajax urges Achilles to re-enter battle. He gives the most passionate speech of the three...
, and
ThasusThasus , a son of Poseidon, or Cilix or Agenor, was one of those who set out from Phoenicia in search of Europa, and thus founded the town of Thasos on the homonym island.-References:*Herod, ii. 44, vi. 47 ; Paus. v. 25. § 7 ; Apollod. iii. 1. § 1.) [L. S.]...
. Some sources state that Phoenix was Agenor's brother (and Belus's son); and it was Phoenix who was the father of these individuals.
In the
IliadThe Iliad is an epic poem recounting significant events during a portion of the final year of the Trojan War — the Greek siege of the city of Ilion — hence the title...
, however, Europa is clearly a daughter of Phoenix. Either Cadmus or Europa are confirmed as children of Phoenix by the
Ehoeae attributed to
HesiodHesiod was a Greek oral poet. His date is uncertain but leading scholars , agree that Hesiod lived in the latter half of the eighth century BCE. Since at least Herodotus's time , Hesiod and Homer have generally been considered the earliest Greek poets whose work has survived, and they are often...
and by
BacchylidesBacchylides was an Ancient Greek lyric poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets which included his uncle Simonides.-Early life:...
and by various
scholiaNot to be confused with skolionScholia , are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments, either original or extracted from pre-existing commentaries, which are inserted on the margin of the manuscript of an ancient author, as glosses...
. Cilix and Phineus are also sons of Phoenix according to
PherecydesPherecydes was the name of:*Pherecydes of Syros, a pre-Socratic philosopher and author from the island of Syros, by some believed to have influenced Pythagoras...
, who also adds an otherwise unknown son named Doryclus.
Most later sources list Cadmus and Cilix as sons of Agenor directly without mentioning Phoenix. On the rare occasions when he is mentioned, Phoenix is listed as the brother of Cadmus and Cilix.
Whether he is included as a brother of Agenor or as a son, his role in mythology is limited to inheriting his father's kingdom and to becoming the eponym of the
PhoeniciaPhoenicia what is now modern day Lebanon, was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and Palestine...
ns. All accounts agree on a Phoenician king who has several children, including the two sons named
CadmusCadmus or Kadmos , in Phoenician and Greek mythologies, was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa. He was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores of...
and
CilixIn Greek mythology, Cilix was a son of Agenor and brother of Cadmus and Europa. His father was either Agenor or Phoenix, son of Agenor.Zeus saw Europa gathering flowers and immediately fell in love with her. Zeus transformed himself into a white bull and carried Europa away to the island of Crete....
and a
daughterA daughter is a female offspring; a girl, woman, or female animal in relation to her parents. The male equivalent is a son. Analogously the name is used on several areas to show relations between groups or elements.-Plants:...
named
EuropaEuropa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage in Greek mythology, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The story of her abduction by Zeus in the form of a white bull was a Cretan story, as Kerényi points out; "most of the love-stories concerning Zeus originated...
.
Myth
ZeusIn Greek mythology, Zeus is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky and thunder. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and oak. In addition to his Indo-European inheritance, the classical "cloud-gatherer" also derives certain iconographic traits from the...
saw Agenor's daughter Europa gathering flowers and immediately fell in love with her. Zeus transformed himself into a white bull and carried Europa away to the island of
CreteCrete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km²...
. He then revealed his true identity and Europa became the first queen of Crete. Agenor, meanwhile, sent Europa's brothers, Cadmus and Cilix in search of her, telling them not to return without her. In some versions of the tale, Agenor sends her other brothers as well:
PhineusPhineus may refer to:* Phineus, killed by Perseus. See Boast of Cassiopeia* Blind King Phineus or Phineas of Thrace, visited by Jason and the Argonauts* Phineas Nigellus, a deceased headmaster in the Harry Potter universe...
or
ThasusThasus , a son of Poseidon, or Cilix or Agenor, was one of those who set out from Phoenicia in search of Europa, and thus founded the town of Thasos on the homonym island.-References:*Herod, ii. 44, vi. 47 ; Paus. v. 25. § 7 ; Apollod. iii. 1. § 1.) [L. S.]...
(and of course Phoenix in the versions where the Cadmus's father is Agenor).
As Europa could not be found, none of the brothers returned. Cadmus consulted the
oracleAn oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion. It may also be a revealed prediction or precognition of the future, from deities, that is spoken through another object or life-form ....
of
DelphiDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis...
and was advised to travel until encountering a cow. He was to follow this cow and to found a city where the cow would lie down; this city became
ThebesThebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
. Cilix searched for her and settled down in Asia Minor. The land was called
CiliciaIn antiquity, Cilicia now known as Çukurova, was a commonly used name of the south coastal region of Asia Minor south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
after him.
Agenor and city-founding
VirgilPublius Vergilius Maro was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works—the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the Aeneid—although several minor poems are also attributed to him.The son of a farmer, Virgil came to be...
calls
CarthageCarthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian...
the city of Agenor, by which he alludes to the descent of Dido from Agenor. German
philologistPhilology considers both form and meaning in linguistic expression, combining linguistics and literary studies.Classical philology is the philology of the Greek, Latin and Sanskrit languages...
Philipp Karl ButtmannPhilipp Karl Buttmann , German philologist, was born at Frankfurt am Main.He was educated in his native town and at the university of Göttingen. In 1789 he obtained an appointment in the library at Berlin, and for some years he edited Spener's Journal. In 1796 he became professor at the...
points out that the genuine
PhoeniciaPhoenicia what is now modern day Lebanon, was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and Palestine...
n name of Agenor was
Chnas or
Khna, which is the same as
CanaanCanaan is an ancient term for a region encompassing modern-day Israel and Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, plus adjoining coastal lands and parts of Jordan, Syria and northeastern Egypt...
, and upon these facts he builds the hypothesis that Agenor or Chnas is the same as the Canaan in the books of
MosesMoses was, according to biblical texts, a religious leader, lawgiver, and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew Moses was, according to biblical texts, a...
.
Quintus Curtius RufusQuintus Curtius Rufus was a Roman historian, writing probably during the reign of the Emperor Claudius or Vespasian. His only surviving work, Historiae Alexandri Magni, is a biography of Alexander the Great in Latin in ten books, of which the first two are lost, and the remaining eight are...
considered Agenor to have been the founder of
SidonSidon,or Saïda, is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. Its name means a fishery...
, and he was also popularly supposed to have introduced the
Phoenician alphabetThe Phoenician alphabet is a continuation of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, by convention taken to originate around 1050 BCE. Unlike its Canaanite predecessor, the Phoenician alphabet was non-pictorial. It was used for the writing of Phoenician, a Northern Semitic language, used by the civilization...
, which was later taught by
CadmusCadmus or Kadmos , in Phoenician and Greek mythologies, was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa. He was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores of...
to the Greeks and became the foundation of their own writing system.