Patreus

Patreus (Ancient Greek: Πατρεύς; Modern Greek: Πατρέας, Patreas) was the mythical founder of the city of Patras, Greece.

Family

Patreus was the son of Preugenes and ninth descendant of Lacedaemon, the founder of Sparta.^[1]

Mythology

Patreus was the leader of the Achaeans who came from Sparta after the renowned Dorian Invasion.^[2] The Ionians who occupied the region were forced to leave their settlements and travel to Attica and Ionia on the western coast of Asia Minor. It was then that Patreus was crowned King of Aroe, one of the small city-states that lay in the region. Under Patreus' reign, Aroe was unified with two other neighbouring cities, Messatis and Antheia. The new united city was named "Patras" (ancient greek: "Πάτραι"), after Patreus, its mythical founder.^[3][4] His tomb was shown in the city's marketplace, next to the statue of Athena.^[5]

Notes

1. Pausanias, 3.2.1
2. Pausanias, 7.6.2
3. Pausanias, 7.18.5
4. Other sources, such as Strabo (8. 3. 2), claimed that Patras was created after the unification of seven cities and not three.
5. Pausanias, 7.20.5

References

• Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. ISBN 0-674-99328-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
• Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Strabo, The Geography of Strabo. Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Strabo, Geographica edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.