Galaxy/The codex of Iobates

In Greek mythology, Iobates (also Jobates; sometimes Amphianax) was king of Lycia, father of Stheneboea (Antea) and Philonoe. He received Bellerophon bearing Proetus' sealed death-token and, unwilling to murder a guest, sent the hero against the Chimera, the Solymi, and the Amazons before giving him Philonoe and half the kingdom.

Adapted from Wikipedia, "Iobates" · CC BY-SA 4.0

I.Family and setting

Iobates rules Lycia by the stream of Xanthus. His daughter Stheneboea (Homer's Antea) marries Proetus of Argos/Tiryns; another daughter, Philonoe, later marries Bellerophon. Apollodorus notes that some call this king Amphianax rather than Iobates — a rival name for one figure, not a second person.

II.Bellerophon and the trials

Believing his wife's false charge, Proetus sends Bellerophon to Lycia with baneful tokens in a folded tablet asking Iobates to kill the bearer. After nine days of hospitality Iobates reads the message; fear of the Erinyes keeps him from slaying a guest outright.

He instead sets lethal tasks: slay the fire-breathing Chimera, fight the Solymi, then the Amazons, and finally endure an ambush of picked Lycians. When Bellerophon survives every trial, Iobates recognizes a god-born hero, gives him Philonoe and half his royal honour, and at death bequeaths the realm.

AT A GLANCE

Greek nameIobates (Ἰοβάτης)
Typemortal
Domainsking of Lycia · the death-token trials · father of Stheneboea and Philonoe
ParentageStheneboea · Philonoe
Cult centersLycia (Xanthus)
EtymologyAncient Greek Ἰοβάτης (Iobátēs); Amphianax is a rival name for the same Lycian king in some notices.
READ MOREWikipedia