THOAS OF LEMNOS (father of Hypsipyle)

Rhadamanthys granted him the island of Lemnos, establishing his rule over the land.¹⁰ His rule was marked by a tragic turn, as the country became infamous for the slaughter of husbands by the local women.¹¹ When the Lemnian women plotted their massacre, his daughter Hypsipyle saved him by hiding him and sending him away in a hollow chest to escape by sea.^12,13 However, other accounts claim that the Lemnian women killed Thoas after learning he had survived, while yet another tradition states the Fates killed him while fighting with brazen clubs.^13,14

In the heat of battle, Thoas struck Peirous in the chest with a spear near the nipple and pulled it out after wounding him.¹⁵ He then cut Peirous in the belly with his sword, causing the warrior's death, but he did not strip the armor from the fallen body.¹⁵ According to some accounts, he discovered gold mines and the method for fusing the metal.¹⁶

Thoas received a sacred crimson robe from his father Dionysus.⁹ He passed this sacred robe down to his daughter Hypsipyle, who wore his harness of war when the Argonauts arrived on the island.^9,1 Upon his death, Thoas left the silver bowls to Hypsipyle.¹⁷

As a boy, Thoas raised a dragon with great tenderness; in another account, a man named Thoas was saved from ambushers by a dragon in Arcadia.¹⁸ In a later scene, he was found inside the temple when a messenger arrived, instructed to remain before the shrine of the goddess.^2,19 He expressed shock that the strangers killed their own mother, yet he praised Iphigenia's cleverness and understanding in managing the ritual situation.²⁰ Thoas agreed to purify the house with fire as requested, planning to hold his robe over his eyes to avoid pollution, and prayed for the rites to succeed.¹⁹ He sent a servant to announce that citizens must stay indoors and commanded servants to accompany Iphigenia on her task, before exiting the scene after giving his instructions.¹⁹