InGreek mythology,Iamus (Ancient Greek: Ἴαμος) was the son ofApollo andEvadne, a daughter ofPoseidon, raised byAepytus. In a story told byPindar, after his mother lies with Apollo and the child is born, he is left in the wilderness. Here he is raised by a pair of snakes, before being found again after Aepytus upon his visit to theOracle of Delphi. Iamus was later taken toOlympia by his father, who teaches him ability of prophecy.
He was said to be the ancestor of theIamidae, a family of seers that operated in Olympia.
He is said to have been the ancestor ofIamidae, a lineage of seers that operated in Olympia. Their main method of reading the future was through the use of a sacrificial fire. According toPausanias, their tomb existed inSparta; they are also known to have been present inMessene andMantinea.[1]
In the sixthOlympian Ode by the 5th-century BC poet Pindar, Evadne lies with Apollo and becomes pregnant, but is shamed by Aepytus for her pregnancy. When it was time for the child to be born, Apollo sends downEileithyia and theMoirai (Fates) to assist Evadne. After giving birth, she abandons the child in the wild out of distress. The child survives, as he is nourished by two snakes, who feed him a harmless kind of venom produced by bees. When Aepytus learns from theDelphic Oracle that the new born was sired by Apollo himself, and was destined to be a great prophet, he orders for the child to be brought back into the house. The infant is found alive lying among violets, and is named "Iamus" by Evadne.[2]
When he reached his youth, Iamus descended into the waters ofAlpheios and invoked Poseidon, his grandfather, and Apollo, his father, asking them to reveal his destiny to him. Only Apollo answered his prayer, and appearing to him, took him to Olympia. There, Apollo taught him the art of prophecy and gave him the power to understand and explain the voices of birds.[3][4]
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