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...

, Phineas (also spelled Phineus, Φινεύς ) was a Phoenician King of Thrace

Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

.
The name 'Phineas' or 'Phineus' may be associated with the ancient city of Phinea (or Phineopolis) on the Thracian Bosphorus.

Phineas, Son of Agenor

Some ancient writers recognize two Thracian kings by the name of Phineas/Phineus. The first was a son of Agenor

Agenor

Agenor was in Greek mythology and history a Phoenician king of Tyre. Herodotus estimates that Agenor lived sometime before the year 2000 B.C..-Genealogy:...

 who, like his brothers Phoenix

Phoenix (Iliad)

In Greek mythology, Phoenix , son of Amyntor and Cleobule, is one of the Myrmidons led by Achilles in the Trojan War...

, Cadmus

Cadmus

Cadmus or Kadmos , in Greek mythology was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa 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...

, Thasus

Thasus

In Greek mythology, Thasus was a son of Poseidon . In the stories, he was one of those who set out from Phoenicia in search of Europa, and "founded" the eponymous town of Thasos on the island of the same name....

 and Cilix

Cilix

In Greek mythology, Cilix was a son of Agenor and Telephassa or Argiope and brother of Cadmus, Phoenix and Europa.When Europa was carried off by Zeus, Agenor sent his three sons out to find her, telling them not to return until they find her. The search was unsuccessful. Cilix eventually settled...

, departed his Phoenician homeland in search of his sister Europa

Europa (mythology)

In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The name Europa occurs in Hesiod's long list of daughters of primordial Oceanus and Tethys...

, who had been abducted by the god Zeus

Zeus

In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...

. Phineas gave up his search in Thrace, and settled on the western shores of the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

, in eastern Thrace. This Phineas was the father of Thynus, Bithynus, Mariandynus and Paphlagonus, although the first two were his sons by adoption, their father being a certain Odrysus. These four men founded four kingdoms along the shores of the Black Sea - Thynia

Thynia

In the ancient world, Thynia was a region of Asia Minor part of or equal to Bithynia which means "Both-Thynias". It was occupied by the Thyni, a Thracian people who came from Thrace. Note that in the Middle Ages, Mesothynia was the peninsula of modern Kocaeli.Its name came from Thyneas son of...

, Bithynia

Bithynia

Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...

, Mariandyne, and Paphlagonia

Paphlagonia

Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...

 - but are otherwise unheard of.

Phineas was also the uncle of Andromeda

Andromeda (mythology)

Andromeda is a princess from Greek mythology who, as divine punishment for her mother's bragging, the Boast of Cassiopeia, was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster. She was saved from death by Perseus, her future husband. Her name is the Latinized form of the Greek Ἀνδρομέδη...

, and was at first engaged to her. However, when Perseus

Perseus

Perseus ,Perseos and Perseas are not used in English. the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty of Danaans there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths of the Twelve Olympians...

 saved her from sacrifice, Perseus became her husband. Phineas was so outraged that he stormed into the wedding hall with his followers and demanded Andromeda to be wed to him. That was when Perseus pulled out Medusa's head for Phineas and his followers to see and become stone.

Phineas, Husband of Cleopatra

The second (and much more famous) Phineas lived several generations later, although his genealogical connection to the first Phineas is unclear. This second Phineas features in the story of Jason

Jason

Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...

 and the Argonauts

Argonauts

The Argonauts ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, the Argo, which was named after its builder, Argus. "Argonauts", therefore, literally means...

, and was married to Cleopatra, daughter of Boreas. Phineas and Cleopatra had two sons, named Plexippus

Plexippus

In Greek mythology, Plexippus is a name that refers to:* A son of Thestius, who, together with his brother Toxeus, participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. He was angry that the prize of the boar's hide had been given to a woman by his nephew Meleager, who then killed him in the ensuing...

 and Pandion

Pandion

Pandion may refer to:* Pandion I and Pandion II, two kings of Athens in Greek mythology* Pandion son of Phineas in Greek mythology* Pandion, a son of Aegyptus, husband and victim of Callidice, daughter of Danaus, in Greek mythology...

, who were mistreated by their stepmother, Idaea

Idaea

Idaea can mean:* Idaea, a genus of geometer moths, including I. aversata, I. biselata and I. seriata* In Greek mythology :** Idaea, a nymph, wife of Scamander and mother of King Teucer...

, who Phineas married after the death of Cleopatra. His residence was the city of Salmydessus on the Black Sea. This Phineas was said to be a son of Poseidon

Poseidon

Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. 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...

, or of Phoenix, and had the gift of prophecy. Zeus

Zeus

In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...

, angry that Phineas revealed too much of the plans of the gods, punished him by blinding him and setting him on an island with a buffet of food. However, he could eat none of it because the harpies

Harpy

In Greek mythology, a harpy was one of the winged spirits best known for constantly stealing all food from Phineas...

 (vicious winged women) stole the food out of his hands right before he could eat. This continued until the arrival of Jason

Jason

Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...

 and the Argonauts

Argonauts

The Argonauts ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, the Argo, which was named after its builder, Argus. "Argonauts", therefore, literally means...

. They sent the winged heroes the Boreads

Boreads

The Boreads, in Greek mythology, were Calaïs and Zetes . They were the sons of Boreas and Oreithyia, daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens...

 after the harpies. They succeeded in driving the monsters away but did not kill them, as a request from Iris

Iris (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Iris is the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. As the sun unites Earth and heaven, Iris links the gods to humanity...

: Goddess of Rainbows who promised that Phineas would not be bothered by the harpies again. It is said that the Boreads were turned back by Iris at the Strophades.http://www.fjkluth.com/harpies.html As thanks, Phineas told the Argonauts how to pass the Symplegades

Symplegades

The Symplegades or Clashing Rocks, also known as the Cyanean Rocks, were, according to Greek mythology, a pair of rocks at the Bosphorus that clashed together randomly. They were defeated by Jason and the Argonauts, who would have been lost and killed by the rocks except for Phineas' advice. Jason...

. He was betrayed by his wife's son Jason who gave him the Golden Fleece. He was recognized as a traitor.

A now lost play about Phineas, Phineus, was written by Aeschylus

Aeschylus

Aeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...

 and was the first play in the trilogy that included The Persians

The Persians

The Persians is an Athenian tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. First produced in 472 BCE, it is the oldest surviving play in the history of theatre...

, produced in 472 B.C.