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GREEK MYTHOSThe Godsunder Codex

AGENOR (mythical Phoenician king)

Figure of myth · mythical Phoenician king, father of Cadmus

Agenor, mythical Phoenician king, full-length portrait
Parents
Poseidon, Libya
Siblings
Belus, Lelex
Consorts
Telephassa, Argiope, Damno
Children
Cadmus, Europa, Phineus, Cepheus, King of Aethiopia, Phoenix, Thasus, Cilix, Electra, Isaea
Haunts and cult places
Phoenicia
In the sources
29 ancient passages

Agenor, son of Poseidon and Libya, was the first child born to his mother and ruled as king in Phoenicia.1,2,3 He was a man of affectionate yet unnatural character, whose lineage would later be marked by divine calamity.4,2,5

Agenor married Telephassa, and their union produced a large family, including Cadmus, Europa, Phineus, and Cilix.3 Other accounts name Argus, Demodoce, and Thasus as his children, while some traditions also claim Phineus as his son.6,7,8,9,10 His brother Belus was his twin, and together they formed the root of a great stock that suffered greatly.2,5

He scorned the Thunderer as a potential son-in-law and could not tolerate the divine treachery involved in the abduction.11 A divine figure entered Agenor's house, and his wife was burned by the divine shock inside their home.12

Driven by sorrow and calamities, Agenor fled his city and reached Illyria with his wife.13 Hera transferred her hatred from a Tyrian woman to Agenor's relatives, further compounding their misfortunes.5 His descendants, including a daughter and a grandson, became deities of the sea.13

Agenor's legacy persisted in the lineage of the Theban royal family, where he was named as a predecessor to the current king.14,15,16 Though he sought justice for Europa, his family remained entangled in the furies of the gods, ending in exile and divine transformation.11,13

The codex facts behind this entry

Agenor is identified as the father of Cadmus and a predecessor in the lineage of the Theban royal family. Diodorus 3.74 +5 Agenor became the ancestor of a great stock whose family later suffered calamity. Apollodorus 2.1.4 +1

In the myths

Agenor sent Cadmus from Phoenicia to search for Europa, ordering him to return with her or face exile. Apollodorus 3.1.1 +3

Sources

  1. Aeschylus, Suppliant Maidens 291-322
  2. Apollodorus 2.1.4
  3. Apollodorus 3.1.1
  4. Ovid Met. 3.1-34
  5. Ovid Met. 3.253-301
  6. Apollodorus 2.1.2
  7. The Catalogues of Women and Eoiae fr. 22
  8. Pausanias 5.25.12
  9. Apollodorus 1.9.21
  10. Argonautica 2 ¶14
  11. Statius, Achilleid 2.52-79 ¶1
  12. Ovid Met. 3.302-338
  13. Ovid Met. 4.563-603
  14. Diodorus 3.74
  15. Diodorus 4.2
  16. Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 255-275
Written from the Mythos Codex, and every sentence checked against the facts it cites. From the Mythos Codex: 32 facts, each checked against the ancient passage it comes from, here drawn from Apollodorus, Diodorus of Sicily, Ovid. Updated 29 October 2026.

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