Anthus

In one account Anthus is the son of Autonous and Hippodamia; after driving his father's horses from the pastures he was attacked and devoured by the famished horses. Zeus and Apollo, moved by pity for the grieving family, transformed the family members into birds. Anthus became a bird called 'anthus', an aetiological explanation for the bird-name. In a separate tradition an Anthus of Anthedon went missing as a child, later served as a cup-bearer in another household, and recognized his brother by whispering a rhyme; companions linked to this Anthus were said to settle on the island Calauria, naming it Anthedonia and Hypereia. These narratives are preserved in later mythographic compendia and classical sources cited by summaries of the traditions.

As human(s): sources record Anthus as a son (in one variant) of Autonous and Hippodamia and, in another, as a youth of Anthedon who becomes a cup-bearer; no detailed physical description of the human Anthus is preserved in the cited summaries. As bird: the accounts state only that the bird called 'anthus' imitated the neighing of a horse and fled from horses; no ancient description of plumage, size, or color is given in the provided material.

The transformation account attributes to the bird called 'anthus' the mimetic behavior of imitating a horse's neigh and a persistent fear-response of fleeing at the sight of horses. These traits are presented etiologically — explanations for observed bird behavior that echo the mythic event — rather than as documented ritual powers or autonomous supernatural abilities.