Houses of the Seers

Argive and Theban Seers

There were seers and prophets in Argos, only because of the arrival of the Aeolids, who married into the royal family of Argos during the time of Proetus.

Melampus was the most famous seer. He originally came from Iolcus, in Thessaly. Amythaon, Melampus' father, and the family fled from Iolcus when Pelias became king, after Cretheus' death. At first they migrated to Pylos, the kingdom of Neleus. Melampus helped his brother, Bias, to woo Pero, Neleus' daughter. When Pero died, Melampus and Bias migrated to Argos, where they shared the kingdom with Proetus. See Melampus in Heroes I and the Houses of Argolis.

Several of Melampus' descendants became seers, like Amphiaraus and Polyeidus.

Another famous seer was Teiresias, who was the blind seer of Thebes. Teiresias lived from the reign of Cadmus to the defeat of Thebes, by the Epigoni. In the Odyssey, the hero Odysseus consulted with the ghost Teiresias.

Manto, daughter of Teiresias, became the captive and concubine of Alcmeon, son of Amphiaraus. Manto became the mother of Amphilochus. Her other son was Mopsus, by Rhacius or the god Apollo. Both of her sons were gifted as seers.

You will find that this genealogy is related to that of the House of Argos (Proetids) and House of Thebes.

Thessalian Seers

Here, there are only two Thessalian seers: Ampycus and Mopsus. Not much is known about Ampycus, except that he was possibly the son of Elatus, or that of Titaron or even of the god of war Ares. Ampycus' son was more famous. You will find two family trees displayed above, showing the differences.

Mopsus was a warrior seer who took part in the war against the Centaurs, the Calydonian Boar Hunt and the Argonauts. I'm doubtful about Mopsus' participation in the Hunt, because some said that the Hunt took place after Jason's Quest, and in the Quest, Mopsus died in Libya, bitten by a poisonous snake.

The Thessalian family tree is almost the same as what is found in the Houses of Elis and the Lapiths Thessaly.

Trojan Seers

Several of King Priam's children were gifted with the power of divination. Aescacus was Priam's son, by Arisbe, daughter of Merops. The mother of the other children, Helenus and Cassandra; was Hecuba, wife of Priam and the Queen of Troy.

Hecuba may not have been a seeress, but when she was pregnant with her second son, Paris, she dreamt that the citadel of Troy was in flames and in ruins.

The genealogy of the Trojan seers is basically the same as the Houses of Troy and Dardania, except this one is smaller. For the full genealogy on the family of Troy, I would suggest that you see the House of Troy.

The mountain nymph Oenone was the daughter of the river god Cabren. Oenone was the first wife of Paris, before he abandoned her for Helen of Sparta. Oenone was gifted in divination and healing. She died after Paris, when she refused to heal him because of his desertion.