Anthus (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Anthus (Ἄνθος) was a son of Autonous and Hippodamia. His brothers were Erodius, Schoenous, Acanthus and Acanthis. Out of hunger, his father's horses attacked Anthus and ate him. Zeus and Apollo, out of pity for the grieving family, transformed the members into birds. Anthus himself was metamorphosed into a bird which imitated the neighing of a horse, but always fled from the sight of a horse. (Anton. Lib. 7; Plin. H. N. x. 57.) The bird genus Anthus is thus named after him.