In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Anthus (Ἄνθος) was a son of Autonous

Autonous

In Greek mythology, Autonous was the son of Melaneus, husband of Hippodamia, was father to Anthus, Erodius, Schoenous, Acanthus and Acanthis, and an owner of a large herd of horses. The land they lived in produced no crops, but only rushes and thistles, that's why all the children of Autonous were...

 and Hippodamia

Hippodamia

Hippodamia was a daughter of King Oenomaus and wife of Pelops with whom her offspring were Thyestes, Atreus, Pittheus, Alcathous, Troezen, Hippalcimus, Copreus, Astydameia, Nicippe, Eurydice and others....

. His brothers were Erodius, Schoenous and Acanthus, and his sister was Acanthis

Acanthis (mythology)

Acanthis or Acanthyllis was the daughter of Hippodamia and Autonous and sister to Anthus, Erodius, Schoenous and Acanthus. When their father's horses attacked Anthus out of hunger and ate him, Zeus and Apollo, out of pity for the grieving family, transformed them into birds. Acanthis thus became...

. Once he drove his father's horses away from the grassy meadows, where they had been pastured by his brother Erodius. Out of hunger, the horses attacked Anthus and ate him; his father was in shock and could not help, while his mother tried to save him but failed because of her physical weakness. Zeus

Zeus

In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...

 and Apollo

Apollo

Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...

, out of pity for the grieving family, transformed the members into birds. Anthus himself was metamorphosed into a bird called "anthus" which imitated the neighing of a horse, but always fled from the sight of a horse. His servant, who failed to protect the master, was transformed into a white heron.

The bird genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Anthus is thus named after him.