Abder
Name | Abder |
Sex | Male |
Father | Hermes |
There are several versions of the myth regarding the origin and hometown of Abder. In the most ancient ancient source in which Abder is mentioned, in Pindar, he is called the son of the god of the seas Poseidon and the naiad Phronia. According to Pseudo-Apollodorus, he was the son of Hermes and descended from the Opuntian Locrida, Ptolemy Hephaestion was the son of the argonaut Menetius and the brother of Patroclus, Tabula Farnesiana was a native of Fronium.
Abder is mentioned in ancient sources exclusively in the context of the eighth feat Hercules by the abduction of Diomedes' horses. The king of the Thracian tribe of the Bistons, Diomedes, owned cannibal horses, which he fed to foreigners. The Mycenaean king Eurystheus instructed Hercules to bring these horses to his court. According to one version of the Pseudo-Hyginus, Abder was a servant of Diomedes, who died at the hands of Hercules. According to another classical theory, which was reflected in various variations in the works of Psedo-Apollodorus, Philostratus the Elder and others, Abder was the servant and lover of Hercules. Hercules assigned him to look after the horses. While the hero was busy fighting, the horses mauled their overseer.
At the place of death or the grave of Abder, Hercules founded the city of Abder, and also established sports competitions in memory of the deceased, including fist fighting, wrestling, and their combinations, "in a word, in everything, but not on horseback."