Epaphus was the son of
Zeus[3] and
Io[4] and thus,
Ceroessa's brother.[5] With his wife,
Memphis[6] (or according to others, Cassiopeia[7]), he had one daughter,
Libya[8] while some accounts added another one who bore the name
Lysianassa.[9] These daughters later became mothers of
Poseidon's sons,
Belus,
Agenor and possibly,
Lelex to the former and
Busiris to the latter. In other versions of the myth, Epaphus was also called father of
Thebe,[10] who was mother of
Aegyptus[11] and
Heracles[12] by
Zeus. Through these daughters, Epaphus was the ancestor of the "dark
Libyans, and high-souled
Aethiopians, and the Underground-folk and feeble
Pygmies".[3]
Mythology
Birth
The name/word Epaphus means "Touch". This refers to the manner in which he was conceived, by the touch of Zeus' hand.[13][14] He was born in
Euboea, in the cave
Boösaule[15] or according to others, in Egypt, on the river
Nile,[16] after the long wanderings of his mother. He was then concealed by the
Curetes, by the request of
Hera, but Io sought and afterward found him in
Syria where he was nursed by the wife of the king of
Byblus.[17] According
Strabo, Epaphus was born in a cave in
Euboea.[18]
Phaethon
Epaphus was also a contemporary and the rival of
Phaethon, son of
Helios and
Clymene. He criticized his heraldry saying, "Poor, demented fellow, what will you not credit if your mother speaks, you are so puffed up with the fond conceit of your imagined sire, the Lord of Day."[19] This prompted Phaethon to undertake his fateful journey in his father's chariot of the sun.
Reign and death
Epaphus is regarded in the myths as the founder of
Memphis, Egypt.[20] Hera being envious that her husband's bastard ruled such a great kingdom,[21] saw to it that Epaphus should be killed while hunting.[22]
Euripides, The Complete Greek Drama, edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. in two volumes. 2. Phoenissae, translated by Robert Potter. New York. Random House. 1938.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.