10 Facts About Telchines

In Greek mythology, the Telchines were the original inhabitants of the island of Rhodes and were known in Crete and Cyprus.

Telchines were regarded as the cultivators of the soil and ministers of the gods and as such they came from Crete to Cyprus and from thence to Rhodes or they proceeded from Rhodes to Crete and Boeotia.

The Telchines abandoned their homes because they foresaw that the island would be inundated and thence they scattered in different directions; Lycus went to Lycia, where he built the temple of the Lycian Apollo.

The Telchines were described to have stings and being rough as the echinoid and thus, their names teliochinous that is “having a poisonous telos like an echinoid”.

Telchines were said to have invented useful arts and institutions which were useful to mankind and to have made images of the gods.

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Telchines were regarded as excellent metallurgists; various accounts state that they were skilled metal workers in brass and iron and made a trident for Poseidon and a sickle for Cronus, both ceremonial weapons.

The Telchines were associated and sometimes confused with the Cyclopes, Dactyls, and Curetes.

Telchines were entrusted by Rhea with the upbringing of Poseidon, which they accomplished with the aid of Capheira, one of Oceanus' daughters.

Ovid in his Ibis mentions that Makelo, like the other Telchines, was killed with a thunderbolt; according to Callimachus and Nonnus Makelo was the only one to be spared.

In rare accounts, the Telchines were originally the dogs of Actaeon, who were changed into men.