Apis (/ˈeɪpɪs/;Ancient Greek: Ἄπις derived fromapios "far-off"[1] or "of the pear-tree"[2]) is the name of a figure, or several figures, appearing in the earliest antiquity according toGreek mythology andhistoriography. It is uncertain exactly how many figures of the name Apis are to be distinguished, particularly due to variation of their genealogies. A common element is that an Apis was an early king in thePeloponnesus that had a territory named after himself and that Apis was often, but not always, ascribed an Egyptian origin. For the sake of convenience, the variant myths are presented here as if they dealt with separate characters.
Apis, according toAeschylus[5] was a seer and healer and a son ofApollo. InThe Suppliants, the Argive kingPelasgus, son of Palaechthon, relates that Apis once came fromNaupactus and freed Argos from throngs of snakes, which "Earth, defiled by the pollution of bloody deeds of old, had caused to spring up" and plague the country. Apis "worked the cure by sorcery and spells to the content of the Argive land." To commemorate his deed, the relieved territory was henceforth referred to as "the Apian land" (Apia khōra) after his name. Note that "the Apian land" appears to comprise not just Argos: Pelasgus describes his kingdom as stretching so far as the northernmost boundaries of Greece, and comprising the territories ofPaeonia andDodona.
Apis, son ofJason, was a native ofPallantium,Arcadia. He participated in the funeral games ofAzan and was accidentally killed byAetolus, who ran him over with the chariot. For the murder, Aetolus was sent into exile by the children of Apis.[6]Apollodorus relates the same of Apis, son of Phoroneus, apparently confounding the two mythological namesakes.[7]
This article includes a list of Greek mythological figures with the same or similar names. If aninternal link for a specific Greek mythology article referred you to this page, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended Greek mythology article, if one exists.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Apis".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
