In Greek mythology, Anchurus (Ancient Greek: Ἄγχουρος) was a Phrygian prince as the son of Midas—the king of Phrygia—in whose reign the earth opened in the area of the town of Celaenae in Phyrgia.
The only known source of this figure is from Pseudo-Plutarch's Parallela minora which he sites Callisthenes' Metamorphosis as his source. In the 5th section of the Parallela minora, He parallels Anchurus' life with the similar life of Marcus Curtius.
Mythology[]
Midas consulted the oracle about how the opening might be closed and he was commanded to throw into it the most precious thing he possessed. He accordingly threw into it a great quantity of gold and silver, but when the chasm still did not close, his son Anchurus, thinking that life was the most precious of all things, mounted his horse and leapt into the chasm, which closed immediately.
Parallela minora[]
| “ | At the city of Celaenae in Phrygia the earth yawned open, together with a heavy rain, and dragged down many homesteads with their inhabitants into the depths. Midas the king received an oracle that if he should throw his most precious possession into the abyss, it would close. He cast in gold and silver, but this availed nothing. But Anchurus, the son of Midas, reasoning that there is nothing in life more precious than a human life, embraced his father and his wife Timothea, and rode on his horse into the abyss. When the earth had closed, Midas made an altar of Idaean Zeus golden by a touch of his hand. This altar becomes stone at that time of the year when this yawning of the earth occurred; but when this limit of time has passed, it is seen to be golden. So Callisthenes in the second book of his Metamorphoses. | ” |
–Parallela minora, Pseudo-Plutarch | ||
References[]
- ↑ Pseudo-Plutarch, Parallela minora 5