Teucer & Dardanus

Teucer (Τεὓκρος) was the son of the river-god Scamander and Idaea, a nymph of Mount Ida. He was the first king of Troad. Not much else is known about Teucer, except that he was the father of Bateia.

Dardanus (Δάρδανος) was the son of Zeus and Electra, one of the Pleiades, daughter of the Titan Atlas and Pleione. Dardanus was also the brother of Iasion. They were living on the island of Samothrace.

According to most myths, Iasion (Ἰασίων) became the lover of the goddess Demeter, who bore him a son named Plutus. The goddess taught Iasion about agriculture. According to Apollodorus however, Iasion violated Demeter, so he was struck down by his father's thunderbolt.

Grieving for his brother, Dardanus left Samothrace, and was welcomed by Teucer. Dardanus married Bateia, who bore Dardanus two sons, Ilus and Erichthonius. Dardanus moved to the slope of Mount Ida, where he founded the city of Dardania.

It was said that when Dardanus died, Electra hid her face in her grief. This was to explain that of the seven stars of the Pleiades, Electra's star was the dimmest. However, the usual myth said that this dim star was called Merope, Electra's sister, because she was the only sister to mate with a mortal.

Ilus (Ἴλος) became king first, but he died young and childless, so his younger brother Erichthonius (Ἐριχθόνιος) succeeded him as king of Dardania. This Ilus should not be confused with Ilus (son of Tros) who later founded Ilium, which was often called Troy.

Erichthonius married Astyoche, daughter of the river-god Simöeis (Simoeis), and she bore him a son who was named Tros. Erichthonius was said to be the richest ruler in the world at that time, because he owned 3000 mares. Boreas, the god of the north wind, liked the mares so much that he turned himself into a black stallion, mating with most of the mares.