Epaphus

In Greek mythology, Epaphus (/ˈɛpəfəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἔπᾰφος), also called Apis, was the son of Zeus and Io. His stepfather was Telegonus, king of Egypt. He was also a king of Egypt.

The name/word Epaphus means "Touch". This refers to the manner in which he was conceived, by the touch of Zeus' hand. He was born in Euboea, is the cave Boösaule (Herodotus, Strabo), or, according to others, in Egypt, on the river Nile, 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.

Epaphus is regarded in the myths as the founder of Memphis, Egypt. With his wife, Memphis (or according to others, Cassiopeia); he had one daughter, Libya. Another of his daughters bore the name of Lysianassa.^[1]

Epaphus also criticized Phaëton's heraldry, which prompted him to undertake his fateful journey in his father Phoebus' chariot of the sun. Belus, another mythological king of Egypt, is a grandson of Epaphus.

David Rohl identifies Epaphus with the Hyksos pharaoh Apophis.^[2]

Argive genealogy in Greek mythology

Inachus Melia Zeus Io Phoroneus Epaphus Memphis Libya Poseidon Belus Achiroë Agenor Telephassa Danaus Pieria Aegyptus Cadmus Cilix Europa Phoenix Mantineus Hypermnestra Lynceus Harmonia Zeus Polydorus Sparta Lacedaemon Ocalea Abas Agave Sarpedon Rhadamanthus Autonoë Eurydice Acrisius Ino Minos Zeus Danaë Semele Zeus Perseus Dionysus

Colour key:      Male      Female

Footnotes

1. Apollod. ii. 1. §§ 3, 4, 5. § 11; Gaius Julius Hyginus Fabulae 145, 149, 275; comp. Herod. iii. 27, 28. (cited by Schmitz)
2. David Rohl: The Lords of Avaris. London, Arrow Books 2007

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Leonhard Schmitz (1870). "^{article name needed}". In Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.