XUTHUS – THE PROGENITOR OF THE GREEK KINGDOMS! #BLOGCHATTERA2Z

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                                                                       Xuthus - Deviant Art by Tedosaur

Xuthus was the son of Hellen, the ancestor of the Greek people, and Orseis, a water nymph. He was a Phythian king who later became the king of Peloponneses. His wife was Creusa, the princess of Athens.

Xuthus was the progenitor of the Greek kingdoms through his sons, Dorus, Ion and Acheus. According to Hesiod’s ‘Catalogue of Women’, the three sons started the Dorian, the Ionian and the Achaean kingdoms.

After his father Hellen, died, Xuthus was exiled from Thessaly by his brothers who claimed that he was greedy and wanted more than his share of his father’s property. He went to Athens, where he married Creusa, the daughter of King Erechtheus. He became father to three sons, Dorus, Ion and Acheus.

There is an interesting story about Ion, which was brought out in the tragic play by Euripides by the same name.

 Apollo once visited Creusa in a cave and violated her, because of which Ion was conceived. Devastated by the outrage, Creusa abandoned her son, leaving him in a cradle in the cave. Apollo requested Hermes, his winged messenger, to rescue the baby, who was later adopted and raised by a priestess of the Delphic Oracle.

Much later in life, Xuthus and Creusa went to the Delphic Oracle to pray for an heir. The priestess told them that they already had a son and that the first person they met when they left the temple would be him.


                                                                         The Priestess of Delphi - HubPages

Xuthus accepted the boy they met outside as his son. However, Creusa, who had put the trauma of bearing a child out of her mind, believed that the boy, Ion, was an illegitimate son of her husband. She tried to kill him by offering him a cup of poisonous dragon blood. Luckily for him, Ion discovered the plot because he gave some of the liquid to a pigeon as an offering. He was furious and dragged Creusa from her hiding place to kill her. The priestess of Delphi appeared at the opportune moment and revealed that he was, in fact, Creusa’s son from Apollo. Mother and son were reconciled. Xuthus too accepted Ion as his son, along with his other two sons.

Ion by Euripedes - Greek Mythology

Trivia: Phonetic pronunciation: Xuthus - ˈzuːθəs/

Books: 

Trojan Women by Euripides (a mention has been made of Xuthus):



Surprisingly there are not many accounts, books or movies on Xuthus.

Euripides: Ion by Laura Swift


Bloomsbury Publishing

Euripides: Ion, Helen, Orestes translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien



 This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026. 

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