In Greek mythology, Butes was an Athenian prince, the son of King Pandion I of Athens and the naiad Zeuxippe. He served as a priest of Poseidon and Athena and was worshipped as a hero by the Athenians. He married Chthonia, a daughter of his brother Erechtheus, and was reckoned the ancestor of the priestly Athenian family of the Butadae, later called the Eteobutadae.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Butes" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Overview
In Greek mythology, the name Butes (Ancient Greek: Βούτης, romanized Boútēs, literally 'herdsman') referred to several different people. One of them was an Athenian prince, the son of King Pandion I and the naiad Zeuxippe.
This Butes was a priest of Poseidon and Athena and was worshipped as a hero by the Athenians.
II.Family
Butes was the son of Pandion I, king of Athens, and the naiad Zeuxippe. His siblings included his brother Erechtheus and the sisters Philomela and Procne, with Teuthras named as a possible further sibling in some accounts.
He was married to Chthonia, a daughter of his brother Erechtheus.
III.Priesthood and cult
After the death of Pandion, his sons divided their father's inheritance: Erechtheus took the kingship of Athens, while Butes received the priesthoods of Athena and of Poseidon Erechtheus.
From him the Athenian priestly family of the Butadae traced their descent, later taking the name Eteobutadae ('true Butadae'). The family held two of the most important religious offices at Athens, the priesthood of Athena and the priesthood of Poseidon, and an altar dedicated to Butes stood in the Erechtheum on the Acropolis.