Trophonius

Trophonius (/trəˈfoʊniəs/; Ancient Greek: Τροφώνιος Trophōnios) was a Greek hero or daimon or god—it was never certain which one—with a rich mythological tradition and an oracular cult at Lebadea (Ancient Greek: Λεβάδεια) in Boeotia, Greece.

The name is derived from τρέφω trepho, "to nourish". Strabo and several inscriptions refer to him as Zeus Trephonios. Several other chthonic Zeuses are known from the Greek world, including Zeus Μειλίχιος Meilikhios ("honeyed" or "kindly" Zeus), and Zeus Χθόνιος Chthonios ("Zeus beneath-the-earth"), which were other names for Hades.

Similar constructions are also found in the Roman world. For example, a shrine at Lavinium in Lazio was dedicated to Aeneas under the title Iuppiter Indiges (Jupiter in-the-earth).

In the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Trophonius is a son of Erginus (the king of Minyan Orchomenus) and brother of Agamedes. Pausanias gives his father as Apollo.

According to the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, he built Apollo's temple at the oracle at Delphi with Agamedes. Pindar relates how, once finished, the oracle told the brothers to do whatsoever they wished for six days and, on the seventh, they would get their reward. They did and were found dead on the seventh day. Cicero mentions the same story, only shortening the number of days to three. The maxim by Menander, "those whom the gods love die young", may have come from this story.

Alternatively, according to Pausanias they built a treasure chamber (with a secret entrance only they knew about) for King Hyrieus of Boeotia. Using the secret entrance, they stole Hyrieus' fortune. The king was aware but did not know who the thief was; he laid a snare. Agamedes was trapped in it; Trophonius cut off his head so that Hyrieus would not know whose body it was. He was then immediately swallowed up by the earth and was turned into an immortal subterranean god.

The cave of Trophonius was not discovered again until the Lebadaeans suffered a plague and consulted the Delphic Oracle. The Pythia advised them that an unnamed hero was angry at being neglected, and that they should find his grave and offer him worship forthwith. Several unsuccessful searches followed, and the plague continued unabated until a shepherd boy followed a trail of bees into a hole in the ground. Instead of honey, he found a daimon, and Lebadaea lost its plague while gaining a popular oracle.

The childless Xuthus in Euripides's Ion consults Trophonius on his way to Delphi.