Cinyras

Cinyras was a king of Cyprus in Greek mythology. According to a myth, Cinyras offered a corselet to Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, when he found out that the Greeks were getting ready to sail to Troy. He also said that he would send fifty ships in aid of the Greeks, but did not keep his promise. Instead, he sent only one, along with forty nine sculpts of ships made of clay. Agamemnon cursed him, and he was later punished by the god Apollo, eventually killing him. Upon his death, his fifty daughters fell into the sea to drown but were transformed into sea birds.

In later literature, Cinyras is mentioned as the creator of art and musical instruments, and of having significant beauty. He was also believed to have had a number of children, including Adonis and Myrrha. Myrrha developed a lust for her father and tricked him into sleeping with her. She became pregnant, and after being released from her unnatural lust which had been inflicted on her due to her mother's hubris, she asked the gods to be transformed to something non-human. The gods accepted her pleas and transformed her into the myrrh-tree. Out of the bark of the tree, the baby Adonis was eventually born.

See Also: Agamemnon, Trojan War, Apollo, Adonis, Myrrha