< Thestius, son of Calydon >
1 Origin
Thestius was born in Pleuron in 1305 BC.
Thestius' mother was Demonice. [FGrH.Nr4.F119]
1.1 Thestius' father
There is a tradition that Thestius was the son of Agenor, the son of Pleuron. [Apo.1.7.7]
However, when creating a genealogy, the age difference between Pleuron and Thestius is only one generation.
Considering that Thestius ruled Pleuron and was the leader of the Curetes, it is assumed that Thestius' father was Pleuron, the son of Aetolus. [Strabo.10.2.24, 10.3.6]
2 Family
The names of Thestius' three wives are said to be as follows:
1) Deidamia (or Leucippe), daughter of Perieres. [SchoOnApoRhod.1.201]
2) Eurythemis, daughter of Cleoboea. [Apo.1.7.10]
3) Laophonte, daughter of Pleuron. [FGrH.Nr333.F9]
Thestius had sons Iphiclus, Evippus, Plexippus, and Eurypylus. [Apo.1.7.10]
Thestius had sons Prothous and Cometes. [Paus.8.45.6]
Thestius had a son Toxeus. [Ovid.8.300]
Thestius had sons Ideus, Lynceus, Agenor, and Aphares. [Diod.4.34.5, Hyginus.173, 244, Bacchy.5.120]
Thestius had a daughter Leda. [FGrH.333.9, Hyginus.155, Paus.3.13.8, Strabo.10.2.24]
Thestius had a daughter Hypermnestra. [Hyginus.70]
3 Others
3.1 Bride from Messenia
In 1286 BC, Thestius married Deidamia (or Leucippe), daughter of Perieres from Andania in Messenia. [SchoOnApoRhod.1.201]
The mother of Thestius' father Pleuron was Pronoe (or Astynome), daughter of Phorbus. [Apo.1.7.7, PsPlut.NRM.22]
Pleuron married Deidamia, daughter of Perieres, son of Aeolus, son of Lapithus, father of Phorbus, father of his mother Pronoe, to his son Thestius. In other words, Thestius married his father's second cousin.
3.2 Emigration from Laconia and Messenia
In 1265 BC, Tyndareus, son of Oebalus, emigrated from Sparta to Thestius. [Apo.3.10.5, Strabo.10.2.24, Paus.3.1.4]
Tyndareus was accompanied by Idas, son of Aphareus. [Estimated from Paus.3.1.4]
Aphareus was Tyndareus' half-brother, and Idas was Tyndareus' nephew.
Tyndareus and Idas relied on Thestius' wife Deidamia to emigrate. [SchoOnApoRhod.1.201]
Deidamia was Tyndareus' half-sister and Idas' aunt.
3.3 Emigration from Argos
In 1264 BC, there was a civil war in Argos, and Mantius, the son of Melampus, fled to Calydon. [Estimated from Apo.1.7.7]
Calydon was the home of Aeolia, the sister of Mantius' father Melampus. [Estimated from Apo.1.7.7 and the marriage of Oecleus and Hypermnestra]
Thestius' daughter Hypermnestra married Oecles (or Oicles, Oileus, Oecleus), the son of Mantius. [Diod. 4.68.5, Hyginus.70, Paus.6.17.6]
Hypermnestra married the granddaughter of Melampus, the brother of Aeolia, the wife of Thestius' uncle Calydon.
3.4 Battle with Calydon
3.4.1 Structure of the conflict
In 1320 BC, after Aetolus moved from Elis to the area where Curetes lived, Pleuron and Calydon were founded. [Apo.1.7.7]
Pleuron, the son of Aetolus who lived in Pleuron, married Xanthippe, the daughter of Dorus whom he had won in a battle with Curetes, and brought Curetes under his control. [Apo.1.7.7]
Calydon, the son of Aetolus, married Aeolia, the daughter of Amythaon, and Calydon became the town where Aeolis lived.
3.4.2 Marriage relations
Pleuron and Calydon tried to ease their conflict by the following marriage relations.
1) Agenor, the son of Pleuron, married Epcaste, the daughter of Calydon. [Apo.1.7.7]
2) Oeneus, son of Calydon, married Althaea, daughter of Thestius, son of Pleuron. [Apo.1.8.1, Diod.4.34, Strabo.10.3.6]
3) Oecleus, son of Mantius, who emigrated from Argos to Calydon, married Hypermnestra, daughter of Thestius, son of Pleuron. [Diod.4.68.5, Hyginus.70, Paus.6.17.6]
3.4.3 Beginning of the conflict
The conflict between Pleuron and Calydon was balanced by marriage, but the following events broke the balance.
1) Emigration of Hypermnestra
In 1247 BC, Mantius returned to Argos from Aetolia. [Estimated from Pind.Ne.9]
Hypermnestra, daughter of Thestius, who was the link between Pleuron and Calydon, also migrated to Argos. [Paus.2.21.2]
2) Emigration of Idas
In 1247 BC, Meleager, son of Oeneus, who lived in Calydon, married Cleopatra (or Halcyone), daughter of Idas. [Paus.4.2.7]
Idas lived in Pleuron with Tyndareus, but is assumed to have migrated to Calydon.
The suicide of Idas' wife Marpessa is believed to be the reason why Idas emigrated from Pleuron to Calydon. [Paus.4.2.7]
3.4.4 Course of the Battle
In 1246 BC, the Battle of Pleuron and Calydon took place. The fierce fighting between the Aetolians and Curetes lasted for six days. [Bacchy.5.100]
It was a battle between the sons of Thestius and the sons of Oeneus.
Oeneus of Calydon won the battle and gained control over Pleuron and Curetes.
The descendants of Thestius, defeated in battle, migrated inland from Pleuron and founded Thestia. [LeakeN.1.155].
Pleuron continued to be inhabited by Parthaon, son of Agenor, son of Pleuron.