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Proetus, a MythSource painting
Greek

Proetus

King of Tiryns · Son of Abas · Twin of Acrisius

01Identity

Proetus in Greek tradition

His quarrel with his twin Acrisius began before birth and later became a war over their inheritance. Proetus was a Greek hero, son of Abas and king of Tiryns. After being driven from Argos, he married the daughter of the Lycian king and returned with a Lycian army to support his claim. Unlike Acrisius, who ruled Argos, Proetus received Tiryns, Midea, the Heraeum and part of the Argolic coast.

Top questions

The quick answers

02Family

Proetus’s family, at a glance

AbasAglaea
ProetusAcrisius

with Stheneboea

IphianassaIphinoeLysippeMegapenthes
03The names

The names Proetus answers to

Proitos

Greek form of the name Proetus

SourceThe Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

Proetus of Tiryns

Proetus identified by his royal seat

SourceThe Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

Proetus Son of Abas

Patronymic identifying Proetus as Abas's son

SourceClassical Mythology a to Z

04The myths

The myths of Proetus

2 myths, with sources recorded for each.

The Cyclopean Walls of Tiryns

The Cyclopes raised the walls of Tiryns for Proetus after his return from Lycia. Proetus and his twin brother Acrisius had quarrelled from the womb and later fought over the kingdom of Argos. Acrisius gained the upper hand and drove Proetus into exile. Proetus reached the court of Iobates, or, in another account, Amphianax, and married the king’s daughter. Homer calls her Anteia, while the tragic poets call her Stheneboea. Her father restored Proetus with a Lycian army. After the war, the brothers divided the Argolid. Acrisius ruled Argos and its surrounding territory. Proetus received Tiryns, along with the Heraeum, Midea, and the coast. The Cyclopes then fortified Tiryns for him, making it his seat of rule.

The walls were treated as too vast for human builders. Greek tradition therefore attributed them to the Cyclopes, whose name means ‘round-eyed’ or ‘circle-eyed’. Their reputation became linked with immense strength, monumental construction, and work at the forge. The Oxford tradition notes that these builders were imagined because the massive fortifications of Tiryns and similar sites seemed beyond human power. Ancient mythographers distinguished them from the primordial Cyclopes of Hesiod and from the pastoral Cyclopes described by Homer.

The completed citadel marked Proetus’s share of the divided kingdom. The tradition assigns its construction to the Cyclopes rather than to the human communities living under his authority. In a later account, after Proetus’s son Megapenthes succeeded him, Perseus exchanged kingdoms with Megapenthes and ruled Tiryns. The Cyclopes were also said to have built the walls of Midea and Mycenae.

The Cyclopean Walls of Tiryns, a MythSource painting of the scene

3 sources· checked 2026-08-19

  1. 1The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)T1
  2. 2Apollodorus, The LibraryT1

    Quote

    “After Proetus and Acrisius divided the Argolid, the Cyclopes built the walls of Tiryns for Proetus.”

    Apollodorus, The Library

  3. 3The Greek MythsT1

The Madness and Cure of the Proetides

The daughters of Proetus, Lysippe, Iphinoe, and Iphianassa, were struck by divine madness. They wandered through the whole of the Argolid, then crossed Arcadia and the Peloponnese. At last they rushed through the desert in a state of complete abandon. Their madness spread, and other Argive women also left their homes.

Proetus, son of Abas and joint king of Argolis with Acrisius, sent for Melampus. Melampus was the son of Amythaon and Eidomene, daughter of Abas. He was a diviner and was said to be the first man to discover that illnesses could be treated with drugs and purifications. He promised to cure the daughters if Proetus gave him a third of the kingdom. Proetus refused, considering the price too high. The madness then grew worse, and the condition of the other women deteriorated.

Proetus sent again to Melampus and accepted his terms. Melampus replied that the disease had increased, so his fee must increase as well. He demanded one third of the kingdom for himself and another third for his brother Bias. Proetus agreed. Melampus then told him to vow twenty red oxen to Helius, who sees everything, on the condition that his daughters and their followers should be cured.

Proetus made the vow. Helius promised Artemis the names of certain kings who had failed to offer her sacrifices, provided that Artemis persuaded Hera to remove the curse from the Argive women. Artemis accepted this agreement. She had recently hunted the nymph Callisto to death for Hera’s sake, and so found no difficulty in persuading her. The curse was removed, and Melampus fulfilled his promise to Proetus. Melampus received one third of the kingdom, and Bias received another third.

The Madness and Cure of the Proetides, a MythSource painting of the scene

3 sources· checked 2026-08-19

  1. 1The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)T1
  2. 2Apollodorus, The LibraryT1

    Quote

    “Melampus cured Proetus’s daughters and the other afflicted Argive women after Proetus granted him and Bias two thirds of the kingdom and vowed twenty red oxen to Helius, whose bargain with Artemis led to Hera removing the curse.”

    Apollodorus, The Library

  3. 3The Greek MythsT1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Proetus, each on that figure’s page.