View source for Pelasgus

{{Short description|Ancient Greek male name}}
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Pelasgus''' ({{langx|grc|Πελασγός}}, ''Pelasgós'' means "ancient"<ref>[[Robert Graves]]. ''[[The Greek Myths]], section 12 s.v. Hera and her Children''</ref>) was the [[eponymous]] ancestor of the [[Pelasgians]], the mythical inhabitants of [[Greece]] who established the worship of the [[Dodona]]ean [[Zeus]], [[Hephaestus]], the [[Cabeiri]], and other divinities. In the different parts of the country once occupied by Pelasgians, there existed different traditions as to the origin and connection of Pelasgus. Some [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] believed that he was the first man.

== Inachid Pelasgoí of Argos ==
: In [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]], several [[King of Argos|Inachid kings]] were called Pelasgus:
* Pelasgus, brother to [[Apis (Greek mythology)|Apis]] both sons of [[Phoroneus]], is said to have founded the city of Argos in Peloponnesus, to have taught the people agriculture, and to have received [[Demeter]], on her wanderings, at Argos, where his tomb was shown in later times.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.14.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelasgus 1.14.2] & [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.22.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelasgus 2.22.1]; [[Scholia]] on [[Euripides]], [[Orestes (play)|''Orestes'']] 920; [[Eustathius of Thessalonica|Eustathius]] on [[Homer]], p. 385</ref>
* Pelasgus, son of [[Triopas of Argos|Triopas]] and [[Sose (mythology)|Sois]], and a brother of [[Iasus]], [[Agenor, son of Triopas|Agenor]], and [[Xanthus (mythology)|Xanthus]].<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#145 145]</ref> According to Greek legends, he founded the sanctuary of [[Demeter]] in Argos and for this reason she was worshipped at this temple under the name Pelasgian Demeter.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DP%3Aentry+group%3D13%3Aentry%3Dpelasga-bio-1 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Pelasga]</ref>
*[[Pelasgus of Argos|Pelasgus]], also known as [[Gelanor]], son of [[Sthenelus|Sthenelas]]<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.2.16.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Gelanor 2.16.1]</ref> or [[Arestor]].

== Arcadian Pelasgus ==
* Pelasgus, either an [[Autochthon (ancient Greece)|autochthon]],<ref>[[Hesiod]] in [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.1.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelasgus 2.1.1]; Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.14.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelasgus 2.14.4] & [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+8.1.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelasgus 8.1.4]</ref> or a son of [[Zeus]] by [[Niobe (Argive)|Niobe]]<ref>[[Clementine literature|Pseudo-Clement]], ''Recognitions'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20040822053941/http://compassionatespirit.com/Recognitions/Book-10.htm 10.21]</ref> (and in the latter case brother of [[Argus (king of Argos)|Argus]]) or of [[Arestor]] (son of [[Iasus (king of Argos)|Iasus]]<ref name=":0">[[Scholia|Scholion]] on [[Euripides]], ''[[Orestes (play)|Orestes]]'' 1646</ref> or [[Ecbasus]]<ref name=":1">[[Stephanus of Byzantium]], s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/241#P508.18 Parrasia]''</ref>). The [[Oceanids|Oceanide]] [[Meliboea]],<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.8.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelasgus 3.8.1]; [[Tzetzes]] ad [[Lycophron]], [https://topostext.org/work/860#481 481]</ref>{{AI-generated source|date=November 2024}} the [[nymph]] [[Cyllene (mythology)|Cyllene]],<ref name="apollodorus.3.8.1">Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.8.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelasgus 3.8.1]; Scholia ad Euripides, ''Orestes'' 1642</ref> or [[Deianira (mythology)|Deianeira]],<ref>[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1B*.html#11.2 1.11.2] & [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1B*.html#13.1 1.13.1]</ref> became by him the mother of [[Lycaon (king of Arcadia)|Lycaon]]<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#225 225]</ref> and [[Temenus (mythology)|Temenus]].<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+8.22.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelasgus 8.22.2]</ref> According to Hellenistic version of the myth, Pelasgus coming from Argos, civilized the hitherto savage natives of Arcadia and founded the city of [[Parrhasia (city)|Parrhasia]].<ref>Scholia ad Euripides, ''Orestes'' 1646; Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/241#P508.18 Parrasia]''</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=[[Robert Fowler (academic)|Fowler, Robert L.]] |title=Early Greek Mythography: Volume II Commentary |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-814741-1 |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |pages=107}}</ref>
* Pelasgus, son of [[Arcas]].<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.14.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelasgus 2.14.4]</ref>

== Thessalian Pelasgoí ==
* Pelasgus, an Argive prince as son of [[Poseidon]] and [[Larissa (mythology)|Larissa]], daughter of the Pelasgus, son of Triopas. Together with his brothers [[Phthius (mythology)|Phthius]] and [[Achaeus (son of Poseidon)|Achaeus]], they left Achaean Argos with a [[Pelasgians|Pelasgian]] contingent for [[Thessaly]]. They then established a colony on the said country naming it after themselves: [[Pelasgiotis]], [[Achaea Phthiotis|Phthiotis]] and [[Achaea]].<ref>Dionysius of Halicarnassus, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1B*.html#17.3 1.17.3]</ref> Pelasgus was also the founder of the Thessalian Argos.<ref>Eustathius on Homer, p. 321</ref><ref>Clinton, Fast. Hell. vol. 1. p. 9</ref> He was also said to be the father of [[Phrastor]] by the nymph [[Menippe (Greek mythology)|Menippe]].<ref>Dionysius of Halicarnassus, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1B*.html#28.3 1.28.3]</ref> Pelasgus is also said to have been the ancestor of the [[Tyrrhenia]]ns through the following lineage: Pelasgus - Phrastor - [[Amyntor (mythology)|Amyntor]] - [[Teutamides]] - Nanas. In the latter's reign, the Pelasgians were believed to have left Greece and to have settled in a new land that later came to be named Tyrrhenia.<ref>[[Hellanicus of Lesbos|Hellanicus]]' ''[[Phoronis]]'' as cited in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1B*.html#28.3 1.28.3] (Hellanicus fr. 4 Fowler, pp. 156–176)</ref>
*Pelasgus, father of [[Chlorus]] and grandfather of [[Haemon]]<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]], s.v. ''Haimonia''</ref> or the father of Haemon and grandfather of [[Thessalus]] instead.<ref>Scholia on [[Apollonius Rhodius]], 3.1089</ref> He may be the same man with the above Pelasgus.

== Homeric Pelasgus ==
*In the ''[[Iliad]]'', [[Homer]] characterizes Pelasgus as brave, and lists the Pelasgians as allies of the Trojans, fighting against the tribes of [[Greeks]] in the [[Trojan War]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Homer |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6130/old/6130-pdf.pdf |title=The Illiad of Homer |date=September 2006 |pages=312, 525 |translator-last=Pope |translator-first=Alexander}}</ref>
* Pelasgus, father of [[Hippothous]], one of the Trojan leaders who fought alongside the [[Dardanians (Trojan)|Dardanians]] and other allies defending the walls of the city of [[Troy]].<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+Epit.+E.3.35&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelasgus E.3.35]</ref> In some accounts Hippothous' father was called [[Lethus]], son of the above Teutamides.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.819-2.857 2.843]</ref>

== Other character ==
* Pelasgus, also called [[Pelagon]],<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.12.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelagon 3.12.6]</ref> son of the [[River gods (Greek mythology)|river-god]] [[Asopus]] by the [[naiad]] [[Metope (mythology)|Metope]], daughter of the river [[Ladon (river)|Ladon]].<ref>Diodorus Siculus, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4D*.html#72.1 4.72.1]</ref> He was brother to [[Aegina (mythology)|Aegina]], [[Salamis (mythology)|Salamis]], [[Thebe (Greek myth)|Thebe]], [[Korkyra (mythology)|Corcyra]], [[Tanagra (mythology)|Tanagra]], [[Thespia (mythology)|Thespia]], [[Cleone (mythology)|Cleone]], [[Sinope (mythology)|Sinope]], [[Pirene (nymph)|Peirene]], [[Asopis]], [[Ornea]], [[Chalcis (mythology)|Chalcis]], [[Harpina]], I[[Ismene (Asopid)|smene]], and [[Ismenus]]. His sisters were abducted by various gods as punishment for their father's deed.<ref>Diodorus Siculus, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4D*.html#61.1 4.61.1] & [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4D*.html#72.1 4.72.1]; Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Asopus 1.9.3], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.1.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Asopus 2.1.3] & [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.12.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Pelagon 3.12.6]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Pelasgia]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|25em}}

== References ==
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]]. 1921. [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|''The Library'']] with an English translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. as two volumes, Cambridge, MA: [[Harvard University Press]]; London, UK: William Heinemann Ltd. {{ISBN|0-674-99135-4}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online text] and [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text] at the [[Perseus Digital Library]] {{free access}}.
* [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]. 1937–1950. ''[[Roman Antiquities]]''. English translation by Earnest Cary [in] [[Loeb Classical Library]], as seven volumes. [[Harvard University Press]]. [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/home.html Online text] at Bill Thayer's website {{free access}}.
* [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]. 1885. ''Antiquitatum Romanarum quae supersunt'', vols&nbsp;'''I-IV'''. Karl Jacoby. [in] ''Aedibus''. Leipzig: B.G. Teubneri. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0572 Greek text] at the [[Perseus Digital Library]] {{free access}}.
* [[Robert Fowler (academic)|Fowler, Robert L.]] 2013. ''Early Greek Mythography'', vol&nbsp;'''2''': ''Commentary''. [[Oxford University Press]].
* [[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''Fabulae from the Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. [[University of Kansas]] Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online text] at the Topos Text Project {{free access}}.
* [[Homer]], [[Iliad|''The Iliad'']] with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. {{ISBN|978-0674995796|}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0134 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*Homer, ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920. {{ISBN|978-0198145318|}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0133 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. {{ISBN|0-674-99328-4}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]
*Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.  [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0159 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Clementine literature|Pseudo-Clement]]. 1867. ''Recognitions'' from [[Ante-Nicene Period|Ante-Nicene]] Library, volume&nbsp;8, translated by Rev. Thomas Smith. Edinburgh:  T. & T. Clark. [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ClementRecognitions.html Online text] at theio.com&nbsp;. {{free access}}
* [[Stephanus of Byzantium]]. 1849. ''Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum quae supersunt,'' edited by August Meineike (1790-1870). A few entries from this important ancient handbook of place names have been translated by Brady Kiesling, available at [https://topostext.org/work/241 Online text] at the Topos Text Project {{free access}}.
{{SmithDGRBM|title=_}}

{{Greek mythology index}}

[[Category:Arcadian mythology]]
[[Category:Autochthons of classical mythology]]
[[Category:Children of Asopus]]
[[Category:Children of Poseidon]]
[[Category:Kings in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Kings of Argos]]
[[Category:Mythology of Argos, Peloponnese]]
[[Category:Pelasgians]]
[[Category:Princes in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Progenitors in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Sons of Zeus]]
[[Category:Thessalian mythology]]