PHORBAS (son of Lapithus)

He was the father of Actor and Ilioneus, and some accounts name him as the father of the king Augeas.^1,2,3,6 Phorbas was the husband of Hyrmina, daughter of Epeius, and had a brother named Periphas.^2,1 Alector summoned him to help against Pelops and granted him a share of the kingship of Elis.¹

While staying in Thessaly with many men and searching for a new home, Phorbas traveled to the city of Olenus.^7,1 Apollo commanded the Rhodians to accept Phorbas and his companions to colonize the island.⁷ The Rhodians summoned him and gave him a share of the land as the oracle commanded.⁷ He killed the huge serpents that were killing many natives on the island, freeing it from fear and making his home there.⁷

In other tales, the God of Sleep appeared in the form of Phorbas to deceive the helmsman Palinurus, who refused to trust the figure due to past betrayals by calm seas.⁸ Phorbas and his Phlegyans made the Delphic oracle inaccessible to mortals.⁹ As an attendant revered by the royal maid Antigone, he replied to her questions about the military situation, noting that Dryas leads a thousand archers from Tanagra.¹⁰

In a dark account, Phorbas pierced the infant's ankles with a slender iron rod and bound the limbs after wounding them.¹¹ He refused to reveal the infant's identity until threatened with fire, then identified the child as the son of Oedipus's wife.¹¹ Phorbas, son of Methion, slipped in warm blood while trying to fight.¹² After his death, he was honored with rites similar to those given to heroes.⁷