Habis
Habis (from the Cynete language meaning fawn) is a legendary king of the Spanish region of Tartessos.[1] The only source of the legend of Habis and his father Gargoris is the work Epitome by Justin, who copied it from the now lost work Philippic Histories by Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus.[2]
| Habis | |
|---|---|
| King of Tartessos | |
| Reign | ? - 625 BC |
| Predecessor | Gargoris |
| Successor | Arganthonios |
| Born | Tartessos, Hispania |
| Died | Tartessos, Hispania |
History
According to legend, Habis's story began when his mother was stung by a bee. Her father, Gargoris, the king of Tartessos, hurried to heal her. As he knelt to soften her wound with his mouth, a passion came over both, thus procreating the baby. Due to the shame of having committed incest, the king ordered the child to be abandoned on the prairies outside the kingdom. Eventually the boy was raised by the deer in there, acquiring deer features. He was later found and recognized as the true heir to the kingdom, and later accordingly named.[3]
References
- Hérnuñez, Pollux. Mitos, héroes y monstruos de la España antigua. Amaya.
- José Castro (translation) (1995). Epítome de las Historias Filípicas de Pompeyo Trogo. Fragmentos, Justin. Madrid: Gredos.
- https://www.elfarodemalaga.es/index.php?id=portada
Further reading
- Carolina López-Ruiz. "Gargoris and Habis: A Tartessic Myth of Ancient Iberia and the Traces of Phoenician Euhemerism." Phoenix 71, no. 3/4 (2017): 265-87. Accessed June 29, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/10.7834/phoenix.71.3-4.0265.