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Classical Mythology Greek and Roman myths, gods, heroes, and epic tales Norse Mythology Vikings, Asgard, Ragnarok, and the nine realms Celtic Mythology Irish, Welsh, and Gaelic legends and folklore Arthurian Legends King Arthur, Camelot, the Round Table, and the Holy Grail Egyptian Mythology Pharaohs, pyramids, and ancient Nile deities Japanese Mythology Shinto gods, spirits, and legendary creatures Chinese Mythology Dragons, immortals, and celestial beings Aztec Mythology Mesoamerican gods, rituals, and creation myths Ancient Literature Classical texts, translations, and literary analysis
Greek Gods The Olympians, Titans, and primordial deities Roman Gods Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and the Roman pantheon Norse Gods Odin, Thor, Loki, and the Aesir and Vanir Egyptian Gods Ra, Osiris, Isis, Anubis, and more Celtic Gods The Tuatha Dé Danann and Celtic deities Aztec Gods Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, and Aztec deities Japanese Gods Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Shinto kami Chinese Gods Jade Emperor, Dragon Kings, and celestial beings View All 150+ Deities Browse the complete collection of mythological deities View all gods & deities
All Stories Browse 800+ mythology and history stories Characters Profiles of 67 mythological heroes, gods, and villains Mythology Stories Ancient myths and legends retold History Stories Historical tales from ancient civilizations Religion & Culture Religious traditions and cultural beliefs View all stories
Name Generators Generate fantasy and mythology-inspired names All Articles Browse 1,800+ articles on mythology and history About Timeless Myths Learn about this mythology resource Bibliography Sources and references used on this site FAQ Frequently asked questions Contact Get in touch with us
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  1. Classical Mythology
    Pantheon Heroic Age Royal Houses Geographia Facts & Figures Genealogy Bibliography About Classical Myths
  2. Genealogy
    Greek Pantheon Aeolids 1 (Thessaly & Messenia) Aeolids 2 (Corinth & Orchomenus) House of Elis (Aeolids 4) House of Calydon (Aeolids 3) Lapith House of Thessaly Early House of Argos House of Argos (Proëtids and Aeolids) House of Perseus (Mycenae and Tiryns) Houses of Thebes & Crete House of Pelops House of Sparta House of Odysseus Descendants of Aeacus Houses of Athens Houses of Arcadia House of Troy and Dardania The Pleiades (The Atlantids) Children of Helius Houses of the Seers Houses of the Rome Giants and Monsters Roman Pantheon
  3. Early House of Argos

Early House of Argos

  • House of Inachus

  • Early House of Argos

House of Inachus

Telegonus (king of Egypt) Epaphus (king of Egypt) Aegyptus (king of Egypt) Phoenix (king of Phoenica) Danaus (king of Argos) Acrisius (king of Argos) Proetus (king of Tiryns) Cadmus (king of Thebes) Lynceus (king of Argos) Belus (king of Egypt) Agenor (king of Sidon) Lelex (king of Laconia) Pelasgus (king of Arcadia) Io Car (king of Megara) Argus (king of Argos) Niobe Apis (king of Argos) Inachus Aegialeus Phoroneus (king of Argos) Europa

The genealogy displayed above shows the common ancestry of the Houses of Argos, Thebes and Crete, as it can be seen by the three different colours (eg. Argos is cyan and green, Thebes/Crete in yellow). The cyan colour indicates the line of Phoroneus and Argus, whereas the green indicates the Io descendants through the Belid line (descendants of Belus, king of Egypt).

Inachus, the river god of Argolis, was the root of the family tree. He was said to be the first inhabitant of the region. His descendants in Argos, Crete and Thebes were all known as the Inachids.

Most writers said that Io was the daughter of Inachus, which is what I have shown here. But some sources indicated that she was the daughter of either Iasus (like Apollodorus and Pausanias) or Perias (like Hesiod).

Early House of Argos

Below are two possible family trees of Argus' descendants.

Both trees found below are different from the previous one. Where Io was the daughter of the river god Inachus in the previous family tree, these two below show that Io was the daughter of Iasus. Iasus was either the son of Argus or of Triopas, depending on which sources you are reading.

I relied on two different sources to construct the family trees below: Apollodorus and Pausanias. One of them was a mythographer, the other was a geographer.

  • Apollodorus' Text

  • Pausanias' Text

Apollodorus' Text

Telegonus (king of Egypt) Aegina Asopus (river-god) Iasus (king of Argos) Argus Panoptes Zethus (king of Thebes) Agenor (king of Argos) Gelanor (king of Argos) Pelasgus (king of Arcadia) Io Io Argus (king of Argos) Niobe Apis (king of Argos) Inachus Aegialeus Phoroneus (king of Argos)

Pausanias' Text

Krotopos (king of Argos) Iasus (king of Argos) Io Tiryns (king of Tiryns) Gelanor (king of Argos) Agenor (king of Argos) Pelasgus (king of Argos) Triopas (king of Argos) Phorbas (king of Argos) Pelasgus (king of Arcadia) Peiras (king of Argos) Argus (king of Argos) Niobe Apis (king of Argos) Inachus Aegialeus Phoroneus (king of Argos) Polycaon (king of Messenia) Messene Argus Panoptes
Jimmy Joe Timeless Myths

By Jimmy Joe

Genealogy:

  • • Greek Pantheon
  • • Aeolids 1 (Thessaly & Messenia)
  • • Aeolids 2 (Corinth & Orchomenus)
  • • House of Elis (Aeolids 4)
  • • House of Calydon (Aeolids 3)
  • • Lapith House of Thessaly
  • • Early House of Argos
  • • House of Argos (Proëtids and Aeolids)
  • • House of Perseus (Mycenae and Tiryns)
  • • Houses of Thebes & Crete
  • • House of Pelops
  • • House of Sparta
  • • House of Odysseus
  • • Descendants of Aeacus
  • • Houses of Athens
  • • Houses of Arcadia
  • • House of Troy and Dardania
  • • The Pleiades (The Atlantids)
  • • Children of Helius
  • • Houses of the Seers
  • • Houses of the Rome
  • • Giants and Monsters
  • • Roman Pantheon
House of Argos (Proëtids and Aeolids)

House of Argos (Proëtids and Aeolids)

The family tree that you see above contains the link between Proetus and the Aeolids, Melampus and Bias. Their descendants would become involved in two wars against Thebes (Seven Against Thebes and the Epigoni), before the Trojan War. I wasn't abl...

July 28th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Argus

Argus

So Argus (Ἄργος) succeeded his uncle (Apis). Argus was a son of Zeus and Niobe, who was Apis' sister. Argus became the new king of Phoronea, and he renamed the city after himself, Argos. Niobe may have also been the mother of Pelasgus (Pelasgos, Π...

April 24th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Houses of Thebes & Crete

Houses of Thebes & Crete

The following two family trees show the two powerful houses of the two kingdoms of Thebes and Crete. Like the Houses of Argolis, they were descendants of the river god Inachus and his daughter Io, and these descendants were known as Inachids, but ...

July 28th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Houses of Argolis

Houses of Argolis

Argolis was a region in northeastern Peloponnesus. There, several powerful cities were built on the Plain of Argolis: Argos, Tiryns and Mycenae. The myths that are about to be unfolded, were set in these cities. The stories involved the descendant...

April 24th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Argos

Argos

The city of Argos was situated in the valley of Argolis on the Gulf of Argolis. It situated beside the river Inachus. The citadel in Argos was called Larisa. The city was originally called Phoronea by its founder, Phoroneus, son of the river god I...

August 8th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
House of Perseus (Mycenae and Tiryns)

House of Perseus (Mycenae and Tiryns)

The family tree above shows the descendants of Io, on the Belid branch, which include such heroes as Perseus and Heracles. The names in blue are the Heraclids or the descendants of Heracles, who would later conquer Argos, Sparta and the region of ...

July 28th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Phoroneus

Phoroneus

The river-god, Inachus (Ἴναχος), was the son of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. Inachus was the first inhabitant of Argolis. The Inachus River flows through the valley of Argolis to the Gulf of Argolis. Inachus married a nymph named Melia, and beca...

April 24th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Genealogy

Genealogy

Pantheon Greek Families Roman Families Miscellaneous GenealogyPantheonGreek Families Apart from Zeus sleeping with women in the royal houses throughout Greece and in every different generation, so that every descendant was related to him, there is...

February 23rd, 2003 • Jimmy Joe
House of Pelops

House of Pelops

Children of Pelops House of AtreusChildren of Pelops The family tree of Pelops displays his descendants, such as Agamemnon, Menelaus and Orestes. Several of his daughters were married into Perseus' family, so also see the House of Perseus. You wil...

July 28th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Io

Io

Io (Ίώ) was an Argive heroine loved by the god Zeus. The early genealogy of the House of Argos is very confusing. Depending on the sources, Io had different parents. So before we began her tale, we will look at the possible parentage she had. Acco...

June 22nd, 2003 • Jimmy Joe
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