Telchines

Their parents were either Pontus and Gaia or Tartarus and Nemesis or else they were born from the blood of castrated Uranus, along with the Erinyes.[1] In another story, there were nine Telchines, children of Thalassa[2] and Pontus; they had flippers instead of hands and the heads of dogs and were known as fish children.[3] In some accounts, Poseidon was described as the Telchines' father.[4]

The following individual names are attested in various sources: Damon (Demonax); Mylas;[5] Atabyrius;[6] Antaeus (Actaeus), Megalesius, Ormenos (Hormenus), Lycus, Nicon and Mimon[7];[8] Chryson, Argyron and Chalcon.[9] Known female Telchines were Makelo, Dexithea (one of Damon's daughters),[10] Halia[11] and probably Lysagora (the attesting text is severely damaged).[12]

The Telchines were entrusted by Rhea with the upbringing of Poseidon, which they accomplished with the aid of Capheira (Καφείρα), one of Oceanus' daughters.[2] Another version says that Rhea accompanied them to Crete from Rhodes, where nine of the Telchines, known as the Curetes, were selected to bring up Zeus.[32]

However, in other versions of the tale, Rhea, Apollo, and Zeus were described as hostile to the Telchines.[33] The gods (Zeus, Poseidon or Apollo) eventually killed them because they began to use magic for malignant purposes;[34] particularly, they produced a mixture of Stygian water and sulfur, which killed animals and plants[13] (according to Nonnus, they did so as revenge for being driven out of Rhodes by the Heliadae).[4] Accounts vary on how exactly they were destroyed: by flood[34] or Zeus's thunderbolt[35] or Poseidon's trident[36] or else Apollo assumed the shape of a wolf to kill them.[3][37] They apparently lost the Titanomachy, the battle between the gods and the Titans.

Ovid in his Ibis mentions that Makelo, like the other Telchines, was killed with a thunderbolt;[38] according to Callimachus[39] and Nonnus,[36] however, Makelo was the only one to be spared. According to Bacchylides, the survivor is Dexithea.[12][35] Bacchylides also mentions that Dexithea later had a son Euxanthios by Minos.[40] This Euxanthios is also known from Pindar's works.[35]

In rare accounts, the Telchines were originally the dogs of Actaeon, who were changed into men.[3]

• Cabeiri

• Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8. Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
• Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888-1890. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• John Tzetzes, Book of Histories, Book VII-VIII translated by Vasiliki Dogani from the original Greek of T. Kiessling's edition of 1826. Online version at theio.com
• John Tzetzes, Book of Histories, Book XII-XIII translated by Nikolaos Giallousis from the original Greek of T. Kiessling's edition of 1826. Online version at theio.com
• Maurus Servius Honoratus, In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii; recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca translated by William Henry Denham Rouse (1863-1950), from the Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1940. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca. 3 Vols. W.H.D. Rouse. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1940-1942. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Pseudo-Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses. Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Publius Papinius Statius, The Thebaid translated by John Henry Mozley. Loeb Classical Library Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Publius Papinius Statius, The Thebaid. Vol I-II. John Henry Mozley. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1928. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Stephanus of Byzantium, Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum quae supersunt, edited by August Meineike (1790-1870), published 1849. A few entries from this important ancient handbook of place names have been translated by Brady Kiesling. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Strabo, The Geography of Strabo. Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Strabo, Geographica edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.