In Greek mythology, Pelasgus () was the eponymous ancestor of the Pelasgians, the mythical inhabitants of Greece who established the worship of the Dodonaean 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 Greeks believed that he was the first man.
Inachid Pelasgoí of Argos In Argos, several Inachid kings were called Pelasgus: Pelasgus, brother to 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.Pausanias, 1.14.2 & 2.22.1; Scholia on Euripides, Orestes 920; Eustathius on Homer, p. 385 Pelasgus, son of Triopas and Sois, and a brother of Iasus, Agenor, and Xanthus.Hyginus, Fabulae 145 He was the father of Larissa who bore to Poseidon three sons with one named after his grandfather (see below Pelasgus). 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.A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Pelasga Pelasgus, also known as Gelanor, son of SthenelasPausanias, 2.16.1 or Arestor.
Arcadian Pelasgus Pelasgus, either an autochthon,Hesiod in Apollodorus, 2.1.1; Pausanias, 2.14.4 & 8.1.4 or a son of Zeus by NiobePseudo-Clement, Recognitions 10, p. 123, ll. 48-49 (and in the latter case brother of Argus) or of Arestor (son of IasusScholion ad Euripides, Orestes 1646 or EcbasusStephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Parrasia). The Oceanide Meliboea,Apollodorus, 3.8.1; Tzetzes ad Lycophron, 481 the nymph Cyllene,Apollodorus, 3.8.1; Scholia ad Euripides, Orestes 1642 or Deianeira,Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 1.11.2 & 1.13.1 became by him the mother of LycaonHyginus, Fabulae 225 and Temenus.Pausanias, 8.22.2 According to Hellenistic version of the myth, Pelasgus coming from Argos, civilized the hitherto savage natives of Arcadia and founded the city of Parrhasia.Scholia ad Euripides, Orestes 1646; Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Parrasia Pelasgus, son of Arcas.Pausanias, 2.14.4
Thessalian Pelasgoí Pelasgus, an Argive prince as son of Poseidon and Larissa, daughter of the PelasgusPausanias, 2.24.1; Scholia ad Apollonius Rhodius, 1.40 as cited from Hellanicus, son of Triopas. Together with his brothers Phthius and Achaeus, they left Achaean Argos with a Pelasgian contingent for Thessaly. They then established a colony on the said country naming it after themselves: Pelasgiotis, Phthiotis and Achaea.Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 1.17.3 Pelasgus was also the founder of the Thessalian Argos.Eustathius on Homer, p. 321Clinton, Fast. Hell. vol. 1. p. 9 He was also said to be the father of Phrastor by the nymph Menippe.Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 1.28.3 Pelasgus is also said to have been the ancestor of the Tyrrhenians through the following lineage: Pelasgus - Phrastor - 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.Hellanicus' Phoronis as cited in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 1.28.3 (Hellanicus fr. 4 Fowler, pp. 156–176) Pelasgus, father of Chlorus and grandfather of HaemonStephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Haimonia or the father of Haemon and grandfather of Thessalus instead.Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, 3.1089 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. Pelasgus, father of Hippothous, one of the Trojan leaders who fought alongside the Dardanians and other allies defending the walls of the city of Troy.Apollodorus, E.3.35 In some accounts Hippothous' father was called Lethus, son of the above Teutamides.Homer, Iliad 2.843
Other character Pelasgus, also called Pelagon,Apollodorus, 3.12.6 son of the river-god Asopus by the naiad Metope, daughter of the river Ladon.Diodorus Siculus, 4.72.1 He was brother to Aegina, Salamis, Thebe, Corcyra, Tanagra, Thespia, Cleone, Sinope, Peirene, Asopis, Ornea, Chalcis, Harpina, Ismene, and Ismenus. His sisters were abducted by various gods as punishment for their father's deed.Diodorus Siculus, 4.61.1 & 4.72.1; Apollodorus, 1.9.3, 2.1.3 & 3.12.6
See also Pelasgia
Notes
References Apollodorus. 1921. 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. . Online text and Greek text at the Perseus Digital Library . Dionysius of Halicarnassus. 1937–1950. Roman Antiquities. English translation by Earnest Cary [in] Loeb Classical Library, as seven volumes. Harvard University Press. Online text at Bill Thayer's website . Dionysius of Halicarnassus. 1885. Antiquitatum Romanarum quae supersunt, vols I-IV. Karl Jacoby. [in] Aedibus. Leipzig: B.G. Teubneri. Greek text at the Perseus Digital Library . Fowler, Robert L. 2013. Early Greek Mythography, vol 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. Online text at the Topos Text Project . Homer, 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. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Homer, Homeri Opera in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920. . Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library. 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. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library. Pseudo-Clement. 1867. Recognitions from Ante-Nicene Library, volume 8, translated by Rev. Thomas Smith. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. Online text at theio.com . 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 Online text at the Topos Text Project .
Further reading Thurmann, Stephanie, "Pelasgus", in Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 10, Obl – Phe, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Leiden, Brill, 2007. .