In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek 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...

, Catreus (English translation

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

: "down-flowing") was a king of Crete and a son of Minos

Minos

In Greek mythology, Minos was a king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every year he made King Aegeus pick seven men and seven women to go to Daedalus' creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten by The Minotaur. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in Hades. The Minoan civilization of Crete...

 and Pasiphaë

Pasiphaë

In Greek mythology, Pasiphaë , "wide-shining" was the daughter of Helios, the Sun, by the eldest of the Oceanids, Perse; Like her doublet Europa, her origins were in the East, in her case at Colchis, the palace of the Sun; she was given in marriage to King Minos of Crete. With Minos, she was the...

. He had one son, Althaemenes

Althaemenes

Althaemenes or Althemenes was in Greek mythology a son of Catreus, the king of Crete. He was also the brother of Apemosyne, Aerope and Clymene. An oracle told Catreus that he would be murdered by one of his children...

, and three daughters, Apemosyne

Apemosyne

In Greek mythology, Apemosyne was a daughter of Catreus and sister of both Althaemenes, Aerope and Clymene. She was known for being fleet of foot. According to legend, an oracle told Catreus that he would be murdered by one of his children; to prevent this from happening, he sent his children away...

, Aerope

Aerope

Aërope was a name attributed to two distinct figures in Greek mythology.-Wife of Atreus:Aërope was a daughter of Catreus, king of Crete, and granddaughter of Minos. Her father, who had received an oracle that he should lose his life by one of his children, gave her and her sister, Clymene, to...

 and Clymene

Clymene

Clymene or Klymenê may refer to*104 Klymene, an asteroid*Clymene dolphin , a dolphin endemic to the Atlantic Ocean*Clymene Moth*In Greek mythology:...

. An oracle

Oracle

In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....

 told Catreus that one of his children would murder him. Terrified he would do so, Althaemenes took Apemosyne and left Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

 for Rhodes

Rhodes

Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...

. Catreus gave his other daughters to Nauplius

Nauplius (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Nauplius was the name of two characters, one descended from the other. The name may originally have been applied to one character, the founder of the city of Nauplia in Argolis...

 to be sold off in foreign lands: Aerope married Pleisthenes

Pleisthenes

In Greek mythology, Pleisthenes is the name of several different people:- Son of Pelops :Pleisthenes is the name of a son of Pelops, son of Tantalus, and of Hippodamia, rulers of Pisa. Two of his brothers are Atreus, founder of House Atreides, and Thyestes....

, and Clymene married Nauplius himself. Years later, Catreus sailed the seas searching for his son, the heir to the throne. In the middle of the night, his ship stopped at Rhodes and was mistaken for a pirate ship. Althaemenes and others attacked the 'invaders', and the prophecy came to pass; Catreus died at the hands of his son, from a javelin blow.