In Greek mythology, Perieres was the "overbold" king of Messene, an ancient polis in the southern Peloponnese. His parentage and offspring vary considerably across ancient authors: he is most often called a son of Aeolus and Enarete, though the Bibliotheca also makes him a son of Cynortas. He married Gorgophone, the daughter of Perseus, and was father to Aphareus and Leucippus, with sources further disputing whether Tyndareus and Icarius were his sons.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Perieres (king of Messenia)" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Parentage and siblings
Perieres's parentage and offspring vary across ancient authors. In most sources, however, he was a son of King Aeolus and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. His siblings were Athamas, Cretheus, Deioneus, Magnes, Salmoneus, Sisyphus, Alcyone, Calyce, Canace, Peisidice and Perimede.
In some accounts, Perieres was called the son of Dioplethes, son of King Myrmidon of Phthia, and possibly of Peisidice, daughter of Aeolus.
II.The two versions of the Bibliotheca
The Bibliotheca mentioned two different versions of Perieres's lineage, or two distinct characters named Perieres. In the first version, he could be a son of King Cynortas, the husband of Gorgophone (the famous daughter of Perseus), and the father of Tyndareus, Icarius, Aphareus and Leucippus.
In the second story, Perieres could be a son of Aeolus and father of only two sons by Gorgophone, Aphareus and Leucippus. In this case, Tyndareus and Icarius, along with Hippocoon and Arene, would be the children of Oebalus, son of Perieres, the son of Cynortas, their mother being the nymph Bateia. In addition, Polydora and Borus were also called his children.
III.Gorgophone and the Messenian line (Pausanias)
According to Pausanias, Gorgophone, the daughter of Perseus, was one of the first women who married twice. She first married Perieres, king of Messene and son of Aeolus, and had by him sons Leucippus and Aphareus. After Perieres's death, she married Oebalus, king of Sparta and son of Cynortas, and had by him Tyndareus, Icarius and Arene.
Pisus, son of Aphareus and founder of Pisa in Elis, was in some versions of the myth counted among Perieres's children.
IV.Other attributed children
The scholia on Apollonius Rhodius's Argonautica recounted that Perieres was the father of a certain Deidameia, who was the mother of Iphiclus, Althaea and Leda by King Thestius of Pleuron, the son of Ares and Demonice.
According to Hesiod, Halirrhothius was also called the son of Perieres.