THAMYRIS (mythical poet and musician)
Figure of myth · mythical poet/musician
- Parents
- Philammon, Argiope
- Symbols and gear
- lyre
- Haunts and cult places
- Thrace
- In the sources
- 21 ancient passages
Thamyris, the son of the musician Philammon and the nymph Argiope, was a clever Thracian bard and one of the ancient cultivators of music.1,2,3,4 Raised by fountain nymphs rather than mortal hands, he was noted for his exceptional natural talent and skill in song and minstrelsy.3,1,5 He is also identified as the son of a Muse.3 He was described as excelling in physical beauty and served as a student of the poet and musician Linus.1,5 He is called an Odrysian and a Thracian because his mother settled among the Odrysae.6
Thamyris won a singing contest for a hymn to a god, taking the prize after his father Philammon had won it.2 He later boasted that he could surpass the Muses in musical skill and claimed his singing voice was superior to theirs.5,7 While traveling from Oechalia, specifically from the house of Eurytus, he encountered the Muses at the place called Dorium.7,8,9 Some say this location is the present-day Oluris.7,10 He engaged in a musical contest against them.1,8
The Muses defeated Thamyris in the contest and punished him for his arrogance.1,5 They stripped him of his musical abilities, blinding him and permanently depriving him of the ability to sing and play the lyre.3,7,1,5 He was instantly struck mute and lost his ability to play the harp.8 Blinded, Thamyris abandoned his artistic practice and threw his lyre into the watercourse Balyra.6,10
Thamyris traveled to Troy to help his friends, despite his mother's warning.3 In Troy, he was killed, an event the Muse blames on Athena.11,3 Another account says he was killed by Actor during a night attack on the sleeping camp.12
Thamyris is remembered as the first person to become enamored of males, conceiving a passionate love for the youth Hyacinth.1 He invented the Dorian musical style and was the first person to play the lyre without singing.13 Orpheus is identified as his cousin, and the two practiced the same customs.3,14 Some sources call him a Thracian king who ruled the coast of Mount Athos, while his posture displays complete dejection.14,15
The codex facts behind this entry
Thamyris is a clever Thracian bard and one of the ancient cultivators of music. Euripides, Rhesus 915-951 +5
Powers
He was noted for his exceptional natural talent and skill in music, song, and minstrelsy. Apollodorus 1.3.3 +1
In the myths
The Muses punished Thamyris for his arrogant challenge by stripping him of his musical abilities and blinding him. Euripides, Rhesus 915-951 +3 The Muses met Thamyris at the place called Dorium while he was traveling from Oechalia. Iliad 2 ¶44 +3 Thamyris boasted that he could surpass the Muses in musical skill and claimed his singing voice was superior to theirs. Diodorus 3.67 +2 Thamyris abandoned his artistic practice and threw his lyre into the watercourse Balyra after being blinded. Pausanias 4.33.3 +1 He engaged in a musical contest against the Muses. Apollodorus 1.3.3 +1
Fate
The Muses defeated Thamyris in a musical contest and punished him by blinding him and permanently depriving him of his ability to sing and play the lyre. Apollodorus 1.3.3 +3 Thamyris was killed in Troy, an event the Muse blames on Athena. Aeneid 12.287 +1
