Butes’s Family Tree

About Butes →

Family

• Aphrodite(spouse),Eryx(child)— Consort

  Aphrodite bore Eryx to Butes after rescuing him from the sea near Sicily. Eryx became king of the Elymians and founded the cult of Aphrodite on Mount Eryx.

Member of

• Argonauts

  Butes sailed with the Argonauts on the quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the only crew member to succumb to the Sirens' song, leaping overboard before Aphrodite rescued him.

Associated with

• Orpheus

  Orpheus played his lyre to drown out the Sirens' song for the Argonauts, but Butes alone could not resist and leaped overboard despite the music.

• Sirens

  Butes, an Argonaut, heard the Sirens' song through Orpheus's counter-music and leaped overboard, swimming toward their island. Aphrodite rescued him before the Sirens could claim him.

• Voyage of the Argo

  Butes's leap toward the Sirens occurred during the Voyage of the Argo. His rescue by Aphrodite was the only casualty the Argonauts suffered from the Sirens' deadly song.