Poeas (Poias)

Poeas is presented in Greek narrative tradition as a son of King Thaumacus of Thaumacia and as a member of the generation of heroes associated with the Argonauts. Sources vary on local details: he is described in some traditions as king of Meliboea or of Malis (Maleae). Variant accounts also shift certain roles between Poeas and his son Philoctetes (for example, who served as Argonaut or who lit Heracles' pyre), reflecting the fluid genealogies and episodic attributions common in the mythic corpus.

Ancient sources and the provided summaries do not record a detailed physical description of Poeas. He is characterized by role and attributes rather than bodily particulars: narrators identify him as an archer and as the recipient of Heracles' bow and poisoned arrows, so typical iconographic attributes in later imaginings would center on bow and arrows rather than described bodily features. No specific clothing, stature, coloration, or portrait-type is attested in the cited material.

The consolidated trait recorded in the sources is martial skill in archery: Poeas is described in some accounts as the greatest archer among the Argonauts. Narratives attribute to him the act of accepting Heracles' request to have his funeral pyre lit, for which Heracles rewarded him with his bow and poisoned arrows. In variant traditions Poeas (or his son Philoctetes) is credited with delivering the arrow that causes the death of the bronze giant Talos, often in tandem with Medea's role in disabling Talos. These accounts present Poeas as a skilled mortal archer and participant in heroic reciprocity rather than as a supernatural agent with magical powers.