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{{Short description|Ancestor of the Bistonians in Greek myth}}
{{for|another use|Biston (moth)}}
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Biston''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɪ|s|t|ən}} {{respell|BIST|ən}}; {{langx|grc|Βίστων or Βιστών}}) was the ancestor of the [[Bistones|Bistonians]], a [[Thracians|Thracian]] people. He is said to be the son of [[Ares]] and [[Callirhoe (Greek mythology)|Callirrhoe]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=The Rev. T.|title=A Classical Dictionary|last2=Lempriere|first2=D. D.|publisher=T. Allman, 42, Holborn Hill.|year=1833|location=London|pages=119|id=ark:/13960/t6154g56x}}</ref><ref>Hoefer, para. 1.</ref>

== Genealogy ==
In the ''Ethnica'' by the 6th-century AD grammarian [[Stephanus of Byzantium]], Biston is said to be the son of [[Ares]] and [[Callirhoe (Greek mythology)|Callirrhoe]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=The Rev. T.|title=A Classical Dictionary|last2=Lempriere|first2=D. D.|publisher=T. Allman, 42, Holborn Hill.|year=1833|location=London|pages=119|id=ark:/13960/t6154g56x}}</ref><ref>Hoefer, para. 1; [[Stephanus of Byzantium]] s.v. Bistonia (Billerbeck, pp. 352&ndash;353).</ref> the daughter of [[Nestos (river)|Nestus]], a [[River gods (Greek mythology)|river god]]. His two brothers are called [[Odomas]] and [[Edonus]] (eponyms of two Thracian tribes, the [[Odomanti]] and the [[Edoni]]). Alternately, Stephanus writes, he was considered the son of [[Paean (disambiguation)|Paeon]] and a grandson of Ares.<ref>Hoefer, para. 1; [[Stephanus of Byzantium]] s.v. Bistonia (Billerbeck, pp. 352&ndash;353).</ref> A scholiast on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], citing the Hellenistic writer [[Philostephanus]], reports that Biston was the offspring of [[Cicon]].<ref>Hoefer, para. 1; [[Philostephanus]], ''apud'' Scholia on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], 2.704.</ref> According to the 12th-century AD lexicon ''[[Etymologicum Magnum]]'', he was the son of [[Terpsichore]], one of the [[Muses]].<ref>''[[Etymologicum Magnum]]'' [[iarchive:etymologikontome00etymuoft/page/n109/mode/1up|197.59 under ''Bistoniē'']].</ref>

== Mythology ==
Biston built the city of [[Bistonia]] on the shores of [[Lake Bistonis]] in [[Thrace]].<ref name=":0" /> He also introduced the Thracian practice of tattooing both men and women with eye-like patterns as a magical fetish, in response to an oracle which guaranteed victory against the neighbouring [[Edonians]] tribe if so adorned. The Thracian Bistonians were famous for their warlike nature and cult of Ares whom they worshipped in the form of an upright standing sword.{{cn|date=April 2026}}

==See also==
* [[Bistones]]
* [[Bistonis]], the [[nymph]] who lives at Lake Bistonis.

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* ''[[Etymologicum Magnum]]'', edited by Friderici Sylburgii, Leipzig, J. A. G. Weigel, 1816. [https://archive.org/details/etymologikontome00etymuoft/page/2/mode/2up Internet Archive].
* Hoefer, Ulrich, "Biston (2)", in ''[[Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft]]'', Band III, Halbband 1, edited by [[Georg Wissowa]], Stuttgart, J. B. Metzler, 1897. [https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Paulys_Realencyclop%C3%A4die_der_classischen_Altertumswissenschaft Wikisource].
* [[Stephanus of Byzantium]], ''Stephani Byzantii Ethnica: Volumen I Alpha - Gamma'', edited by Margarethe Billerbeck, in collaboration with Jan Felix Gaertner, Beatrice Wyss and Christian Zubler, De Gruyter, 2006. {{ISBN|978-3-110-17449-6}}. {{doi|10.1515/9783110202816}}.

[[Category:Mythological kings of Thrace]]
[[Category:Children of Ares]]

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