Tectamus

Tectamus was a king of Crete and hero of ancient Hellenic mythology. He was also called Tectaphus, 'Teutamus, Tectauus and Tectaeus'.

Name

Joseph Vendryes had suggested that the name Teutamus, after the legendary Pelasgian founder, may contain the Proto-Indo-European root *teutéh_a-. Later scholars proposed a relation of Pelasgian Teutamus with similar names that appear in Italy in later times.

Mythology

Tectamus was the son of Dorus and grandson of Hellen. According to Diodorus Siculus, Tectamus invaded Crete together with a horde of Aeolian and Pelasgian settlers and became the island's king. It was the third of the tribes that migrated to Crete. According to another version, Tectamus was a chief of Dorians and Achaeans. He married Cretheus’s daughter who gave birth to his son Asterion.

In later Greek historiography

Historian Ctesias wrote of a king of "Assyrian" provenance named Teutamus, and this historical personage appears in an epic tale involving Memnon, son of Eos.