Talos
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thumb|Winged "" armed with a stone. Obverse of silver Ancient drachma|didrachma from [[Phaistos, Crete ( 300/280–270 BC) (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)]] In Greek mythology, Talos, also spelled Talus (; , Tálōs) or Talon (; , Tálōn), was a man of bronze who protected Crete from pirates and invaders. Despite the popular idea that he was a giant, no ancient source states this explicitly.
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8 sectionsContents
- Narrative
- Artistic sources
- Other variants
- Immolation of victims
- Cretan lineage
- Rationalisation
- See also
- References
thumb|Winged "" armed with a stone. Obverse of silver Ancient drachma|didrachma from [[Phaistos, Crete ( 300/280–270 BC) (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)]] In Greek mythology, Talos, also spelled Talus (; , Tálōs) or Talon (; , Tálōn), was a man of bronze who protected Crete from pirates and invaders. Despite the popular idea that he was a giant, no ancient source states this explicitly.
== Narrative == Different literary sources provide a wide variety of accounts of Talos' role and genealogy. The most popular variant of the myth of Talos is that found in the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes (fl. first half of 3rd century BCE). In this account, Talos is described as being a descendant of the bronze race (χαλκοῦ γένους) who sprang from ash-trees. He is described as being bronze and also invulnerable with the exception of a vein in his ankle which was protected by only a thin layer of skin.