STAPHYLUS (mortal king of the Staphylians)
Figure of myth · son of Dionysus in Greek mythology
- Parents
- Dionysus, Ariadne
- Siblings
- Thoas, Oenopion
- Consorts
- Chrysothemis
- Children
- Hemithea, Rhoeo, Parthenus
- In the sources
- 10 ancient passages
Born in Naxos, Staphylus was a son of Dionysus and Ariadne, though some accounts named Theseus and Ariadne as his parents.1,2,3,4,5 His lineage was further complicated by a tradition claiming Silenus as his father, while his siblings included Thoas and Oenopion.6,3
He joined the assembly of nobles who sailed on the Argo.1 Rhadamanthys gifted him the island of Peparethos, and he later claimed that Melampus first invented mixing wine with water.7,8 He also asserted that the island of Cos was formerly named Cea.9
Staphylus hosted a traveler at Bybastus with great friendliness, having previously learned the content of an oracle's sentence.2 He united his guest with his daughter Hemithea to secure descendants, yet the man accused him of treacherous conduct upon waking.2 In a separate act of anger, he imprisoned his daughter Rhoeo in a chest and threw it into the sea, believing a man had seduced her.10
His consort was Chrysothemis.
The codex facts behind this entry
Staphylus is identified as a son of Dionysus. Apollodorus 1.9.16 +1
