< Erginus, son of Miletus >

1 Origin

Erginus (or Arion) was born in Miletus, Asia Minor, in 1285 BC. [TzeAdLyco.467]

Erginus' mother was Astypalaea. [Estimated from Apollo.1.185 and Apollo.2.866]

1.1 Father of Erginus

Erginus appears in the story of the Argonauts' expedition as a participant from Miletus. [Apollo.1.185, Hyginus.14, OrphicArgo.152]

A genealogy shows that Miletus, the founder of Miletus, was one generation before Erginus and is likely Erginus' father.

2 Family

The ruler of Miletus in the generation after Erginus, that is, during the Trojan War, was Trambelus. [Athen.43d, Parthe.26]

The mother of Trambelus is presumed to be Hesione. [Estimated from LycoAle.450 and Parthe.26]

In other words, Erginus married Laomedon's daughter Hesione from Ilium, and had a son, Trambelus.

3 Others

Erginus is presumed to have been King Ahhiuwa, who appears in the Hittite Tawagalawa letter.

In 1265 BC, there was an internal conflict in the Hittites, and Mursili III fought against his uncle (later Hattusili III), who was defeated. [wiki: Mursili III]

In this battle, Wilusa (Troy), Millawanda (Miletus), and Ahhiyawa (Achaeans) supported Mursili III. After the battle, Wilusa and Millawanda, which had been subordinate to the Hittites, became independent. [wiki: Piyama-Radu (Gale)]

In an attempt to improve relations with Millawanda, Laomedon of the independent Wilusa gave his daughter Hesione in marriage to Erginus of Miletus. [Estimated from Lycoph.450, Parthe.26]

Later, during the time of Erginus, Millawanda was attacked by the Hittites and became a vassal state of the Hittites.

Erginus lost the battle against the Hittites, but was forgiven by the Hittites and ruled over Millawanda. [wiki: Milawata letter]

Although Erginus' father Atpa was also hostile to the Hittites, it is believed that Erginus was forgiven by the Hittites because his wife was Hesione, the daughter of Laomedon.