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King Lycurgus relates to both Antigone and Creon. Antigone and King Lycurgus both go against their authority, Creon and Dionysus, to accomplish their own wills. Additionally, King Lycurgus "sealed up Dionysus in deaf stone" which relates to Creon's imprisonment of Antigone.

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King Phineus imprisoned his first wife, the daughter of the north wind, and allowed his new wife to blind his sons from his first marriage. This relates to Antigone because Creon is imprisoning his niece, Antigone, just like King Phineus imprisoned his daughter.

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Creon and Phineus are similar in both became hungry for power when the position was given to them. They both made terrible choices and in the end, they were tortured.

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Phineus of Thrace

​The blind seer Phineus is a famous character from Greek mythology, for Phineus appears in the tale of Jason and the Argonauts, where the Argonauts discover him being tortured by the Argonauts.

As with many tales of Greek mythology, the story of Phineus is potentially far more complex than most people think.

​The Parentage of Phineus

​The parentage is uncertain, with three different fathers commonly named.

The most common parentage of Phineus is given as Agenor, King of Phoenicia, which would make Phineus a brother to and Europa.

Alternatively, Phineus is a son of Phoenix, son of Agenor, born to the daughter of Arabius, Cassiopea; or he is the son of the Greek sea god Poseidon, by a woman unnamed.

In the event that Phineus was the son of Agenor, or of Phoenix, then this would make Phineus a long lived individual, for both of these potential fathers lived generations prior to the events of which Phineus is most famous.

Phineus would become known as a king of Thrace, where he ruled Salmydessus; to the Ancient Greeks, Thrace was a name given to the land north of Thessaly.

​The Blinding of Phineus

​In the simplest versions of the tale of Phineus, Apollo teaches Phineus the art of prophecy, and so Phineus becomes known as a seer, as well as a king.

Phineus though misuses his gifts, for he reveals too much to mankind, for seers were expected not to be too precise, or too clear, in their prophecies, lest they revealed the secrets of the gods. Phineus, for his indiscretion, is made blind by Zeus, and then as an additional punishment, the Harpies were sent to further torture the Thracian king.

The Harpies were the monstrous winged women of Greek mythology, known as people snatchers, who worked in partnership with the .

The form of torture undertaken by the Harpies upon Phineus saw the winged women swoop down upon and food laid out for the king, taking most and leaving only uneatable remains behind.

Thus it was that the Argonauts had delivered Phineus from his torment, and in gratitude the seer now told Jason and his men the route to Colchis. This route took the through the Symplegades, the Clashing Rocks, and near to the island of Aretias, where the Stymphalian birds were to be found.

Phineus told Jason how the Argo might safely navigate between the Symplegades, if the Argonauts rowed with all their might after a dove, and how the Stymphalian birds might be dispersed if a great noise was made with the shields and weapons of the warriors.

The Harpies Driven from the Table of King Phineus by Zetes and Calais - François-Alexandre Verdier (1651-1730) - PD-art-100

​Alternative Tales of Phineus

The story of Phineus in Greek mythology becomes far more complicated if the blindness of the king of Thrace is not put down to revealing the secrets of the gods; and subsequently, Phineus becomes much less of a sympathetic character.

​One tale tells of Phineus choosing a long-life over the ability to see, claiming to prefer to live for many years than to look upon the sun again. The sun god though, took this as an insult to him, and so it was Helios who dispatched the Harpies to torment Phineus.
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Or, perhaps, the blinding of Phineus was due to some other punishment of the gods.

​The Family of Phineus

Phineus also had other children by unnamed women, including Thynus and Mariandynus, and Olizone.

​Family Trouble for Phineus

​As was common in tales of Greek mythology the second wife of an individual was often jealous of the first, and Idaea was no exception.

Idaea would claim that Plexippus and Pandion had attempted to rape her, and believing his new wife, King Phineus punished his sons.

Some tell of Phineus killing his sons, in which case the gods punished him with blindness, or else threw them, and potentially Cleopatra, into a prison cell, and tortured them, in which case Phineus kept his sight.

The Demise of Phineus

​In the latter case, when the Argonauts arrived they discovered the unjust punishment being undertaken, and they went to Phineus to talk about releasing them. Phineus though was angered about strangers interfering in his kingdom's affairs, and bluntly refused to release them. In response, Calais and Zetes rushed to release their nephews from their imprisonment.

Phineus now organised his army to deal with Calais and Zetes, but of course, the other Argonauts sided with their comrades, and a battle ensued between the and the Thracians. In this battle it was said that Phineus was killed by Heracles, and of course the Argonauts emerged victorious.

Idaea was expelled from the country and the sons of Phineus, Pleippus and Pandion, now became rulers of Salmydessus.

Phineus and the Sons of Boreas - Sebastiano Ricci (1659-1734) - PD-art-100

Colin Quartermain - King Phineus - 6th May 2018

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​The blind seer Phineus is a famous character from Greek mythology, for Phineus appears in the tale of Jason and the Argonauts, where the Argonauts discover him being tortured by the Argonauts. As with many tales of Greek mythology, the story of Phineus is potentially far more complex than most people think.

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King Lycurgus was attacked for his pride, similar to how Antigone was condemned for her pride. Both King Lycurgus and Antigone disobeyed orders to do what they think is best.

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Danae and Antigone are both locked up in some type of small space. Oedipus was also predicted to kill his father, like it was predicted that Danae's son would kill her father.

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Kate, Madeline, Annabelle, and Mackenzie POD!

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Kate, Madeline, Annabelle, and Mackenzie POD!

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Danae's story and Antigone's story are very similar. Both Danae and Antigone are imprisoned by their fathers, were both princesses, and both favored by the gods.