Criasus

In the genealogical accounts sampled, Criasus is the son of Argus and either Evadne (daughter of Strymon) or the Oceanid Peitho in variant traditions. He figures within Argive king-lists and dynastic sequences: sibling names recorded in some traditions include Ecbasus, Jasus, Peiranthus, Epidaurus, and Tiryns. Criasus is said to have married (or fathered children by) Melantho and to have fathered Phorbas, Ereuthalion, and Cleoboea. His position in these lists functions to link earlier eponymous figures to later successors and to provide a temporal point used by chroniclers to synchronize local Argive tradition with other kingdoms.

Ancient sources and the sampled modern summaries offer no physical description or iconography for Criasus. He appears only in textual king-lists, genealogies, and chronographic comments rather than as a depicted or described corporeal figure.

No supernatural abilities are attributed to Criasus in the cited material. The sources ascribe to him political and genealogical roles: a reign lasting fifty-four years, the fathering of named offspring (notably Phorbas, who succeeds him), and placement within chronologies. Later chroniclers (e.g., Eusebius as reported in modern summaries) use his reign as a synchronism with rulers of other polities and with the traditional dating of events such as the birth of Moses, indicating his function as a chronological anchor rather than a source of supernatural power.