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...

, Taphius founded the city Taphos on the island of the same name, and was its king. He also gave his name to the Taphians, a people that inhabited Taphos and nearby islands, which formed part of Odysseus

Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....

's kingdom at the time of the Trojan War

Trojan War

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...

. According to one genealogy, Taphius was the son of Poseidon

Poseidon

Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...

 and Hippothoë

Hippothoe

In Greek mythology, Hippothoe is the name of five distinct characters.* Hippothoe, daughter of Mestor, son of Perseus, and of Lysidice, daughter of Pelops. Poseidon abducted Hippothoe from her family and took her to the Echinades islands. Upon her he sired Taphius who later founded the city of...

 (daughter of Mestor

Mestor

In Greek mythology, Mestor was name of two men.# Mestor was a son of Perseus and Andromeda. He was brother of Perses, Alcaeus, Heleus, Sthenelus, Electryon, Cynurus, Gorgophone and Autochthoe.# Another Mestor was a son of King Priam....

, son of Perseus

Perseus

Perseus ,Perseos and Perseas are not used in English. the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty of Danaans there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths of the Twelve Olympians...

). However, according to another (more plausible) genealogy Taphius's father was named Pterelaus

Pterelaus

-Son of Lelex:Pterelaus was a son of Lelex, a pre-Hellenic king whose descendants spread across Greece and beyond . Pterelaus ruled the land by the River Achelous, in the region later called Acarnania. Pterelaus had numerous sons who settled the territory in the vicinity of the Achelous, including...

, who ruled in Acarnania, and this Pterelaus was a son of Lelex

Lelex

In Greek mythology, Lelex was a King of Laconia. He was married to the Naiad nymph, Cleochareia. He had several sons, including Myles, Polycaon, Pterelaus, and Cteson. The parentage of Lelex is variously stated...

. Both versions agree that Taphius had a son, also called Pterelaus ('Pterelaus II').