Mopsus the Lapith
Lapith seer who sailed with the Argonauts and died of a serpent bite in Libya on the return journey.
The Legend of Mopsus the Lapith
Mopsus was a seer from Thessaly, son of Ampyx and the nymph Chloris, who joined the Argonauts' expedition to Colchis. He was one of several prophetically gifted members of the crew. On the return voyage through Libya, after the Argonauts had been becalmed and were carrying the Argo across the desert on their shoulders, Mopsus stepped on a Libyan serpent while walking through the sand. The bite proved fatal despite his prophetic gifts — a detail ancient commentators found ironic. He died in Libya and was buried there. This Mopsus should be distinguished from the more famous post-Trojan War seer Mopsus of Colophon (son of Apollo and Manto), though later traditions merged the two figures. Pindar's fourth Pythian ode is the primary source for the Argonaut traditions that include Mopsus.
Parents
Ampyx (father); Chloris (mother)
Symbols
Fun Fact
Mopsus the seer died of a snakebite despite being a professional prophet — ancient readers noted the painful irony that the man who could foresee others' fates failed to foresee his own.
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