Neleus King of Pylos

All dates given here are Before Christ.

NELEUS NHLEUS

A son of Cretheus and Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus. Tyro, previous to her marriage with Neleus, is said to have loved the river-god Enipeus; and in the form of Enipeus Poseidon once appeared to her, and became by her the father of Pelias and Neleus (Hom. Od. xi. 234, &c.). Tyro exposed the two boys, but they were found and reared by horse herds, and when thee had grown up they learned who their mother was, and Pelias killed their fostermother, who had ill-used Tyro (Apollod. i. 9. § 8). After the death of Cretheus, the two brothers quarrelled about the succession to the throne of Iolcus. Neleus, who was expelled, went with Melampus and Bias to Pylos, which his uncle Aphareus gave to him (Apollod. i. 9. § 9; Diod. iv. 68). Neleus thus became king of Pylos, which town he found in existence when he arrived there; but some state that he himself built Pylos, or at least that he erected the royal palace there (Paus. iv. 2. § 3, 36. § 1). It should be observed that several towns of the name of Pylos claimed the honour of being the city of Neleus or of his son Nestor, such as Pylos in Messenia, Pylos in Elis, and Pylos in Triphylia; the last of which is probably the one mentioned by Homer in connection with Neleus and Nestor (Strab. viii. p. 337). Neleus was married to Chloris, who, according to Homer (Od. xi. 280, &c.), was a daughter of Amphion of Orchomenos, and according to others (Diod. l. c.) a Theban woman, and by her he became the father of Nestor, Chromius, Periclymenus, and Pero, though the total number of his sons was twelve (Od. xi. 285, Il. xi. 692; Apollod. i. 9. § 9; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. i. 156).

(Obtained from Greek Myth Index)

The Palace of King Nestor

(place) by trees of Leucadia Tue Mar 11 2003 at 21:53:51

A Mycenaean palace, built in the 14th century B.C. atop the hill of Epano Englianos. Its ruins are located near the modern Greek city of Pylos. The palace is believed to have been the home of Nestor, a Mycenaean king who is known foremost as Agamemnon's wise counselor in Homer's Iliad.

Greek legend tells of Neleus, an ancient king, who ruled the area of Pylos with his twelve sons, around 1300 B.C. Some undocumented disaster, probably an earthquake, destroyed their settlement. Neleus and his son Nestor were among the only survivors, and he and his father built their palace over the ruins.

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The PEDIGREE of

Neleus (King) of PYLOS

Poss. Jullus of Rome's 22-Great Grandfather. HM George I's Ancestor. HRE Ferdinand I's Ancestor. Osawatomie' Brown's Ancestor.

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Wife/Partner:       Meliboea (Chloris) of THEBES 

Children: Pero of PYLOS ; Nestor (King) of PYLOS ; 11 other sons
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_______ _______ _______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ____ ___ ___

  / -- Deucalion of PTHIA   + ====> [ 8]  

/ -- Hellen (King) of the HELLENES
| \ | or: poss. Helius (GOD of the Sun), q.v.
/ \ -- Pyrrha of PTHIA + ====> [ 9]
/ -- Aeolus of THESSALY
/ \ -- Orseis the NYMPH + ====> [ 8]
/ -- Cretheus (King) of IOLCUS

| \ | or: or: Hippocoon of THESSALY

| | | or: Hippocoon of THESSALY

| | | OR: Poseidon (the OLYMPIAN; GOD of the Sea) + ====> [ 6]

| | | OR: poss. source: Poti Daon + ====> [ 1]

| | | or: poss. source: Neptonos (Kurgan GOD of Sea)

/ \ -- Enarete of THESSALY

- Neleus (King) of PYLOS

\ / -- Aeolus of THESSALY + ====> [ 11]

| / -- Salmoneus of THESSALY

| / \ -- Enarete of THESSALY

\ -- Tyro of THESSALY

\   / -- Aleus (King) of ARCADIA   + ====> [ 26]  

\ -- Alcidice of ARCADIA
\ -- Neaera of ARCADIA + ====> [ 27]
| or: Cleobule
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His (poss.) 3-Great Grandchildren: Laomedan (King) of TROY ; Themiste of TROY ; Telecleia of THRACE ; Eurydice (Eurydike) of TROY ; (NN) of ALCMEONIDAE Clan

Neleus ( Greek : Νηλέας , Νηλεὺς ) was the son of Poseidon and Tyro, brother of Pelias.

Tyro was married to Cretheus (with whom she had one son, Aeson) but loved Enipeus, a river god. She pursued Enipeus, who refused her advances. One day, Poseidon, filled with lust for Tyro, disguised himself as Enipeus and from their union was born Pelias and Neleus, twin boys. Tyro exposed her sons on a mountain and they were raised by a maid. When they reached adulthood, Pelias and Neleus found Tyro and killed her stepmother, Sidero, for having mistreated her. Sidero hid in a temple to Hera but Pelias killed her anyway, causing Hera's undying hatred of Pelias.

Neleus and Pelias fought for the crown, and Neleus was banished to Messenia, becoming King of Pylos. Heracles later asked Neleus to cleanse him of a blood-debt and was refused. Heracles killed Neleus' sons, including Alastor but excluding Nestor.

In Greek mythology, Nestor (Νέστωρ, Νέστωρ ) of Gerênia was the son of Neleus, the King of Pylos, and Chloris. He became king after Heracles killed Neleus and all of Nestor's brothers and sisters.

EIDOMENE, or Idomene, was a daughter of Pheres, son of Cretheus and Tyro, and Periclymene. Her brothers were Admetus and Lycurgus, and her sister was Periapis. Pheres founded the town of Pherae in Thessaly. In one place Eidomene was referred to as the daughter of Abas. She married Amythaon, her uncle, thus becoming not only a cousin but also aunt of Jason, since Amythaon was brother to Aeson, Jason's father. By Amythaon she became the mother of sons Bias and Melampus, and a daughter Aeolia. She was sometimes called Aglaia or Dorippe. Amythaon migrated to Messenia and settled at the court of Neleus, his half-brother. He started the Olympic games after the sons of Pelops left Elis. He went back to Thessaly to greet Jason when his nephew appeared at the court of Pelias. Bias and Melampus went on to become joint rulers in Argos because they were able to cure the insanity of the daughters of Proetus. Melampus was able to accomplish the cure through his combined gift of prophecy and medical knowledge. Eidomene probably lived with her sons in Argos after Amythaon died and they had acquired their part of the kingdom. [Apollodorus 1.9.11, 2.2.2, 3.10.4, 13.8; Diodorus Siculus 4.68; Homer, Odyssey 11.259; Pausanias 5.8.2; Pindar, Pythian Odes 4.124.]