Battus (means "tongue-tied"[1]) was a figure in Greek mythology who witnessed Hermes stealing Apollo's cattle in Maenalus in Arcadia.

Hermes turns Butte to stone ." Engraving by Antoine - Jean Duclos of 1767 for Ovid 's Metamorphoses

Hermes gave him a heifer on condition Battus kept the theft secret. On returning in disguise, Hermes offered to reward Battus if he would tell him the location of the cattle; Battus did so, and for his greed was punished by being turned into stone.[2][3]

Notes

  1. ^ Graves, Robert (1960). The Greek Myths. Harmondsworth, London, England: Penguin Books. pp. s.v. Aristaeus. ISBN 978-0143106715.
  2. ^ Michael Grant, John Hazel (2004). Who's Who in Classical Mythology (revised ed.). Routledge. p. 97. ISBN 9781134509430.
  3. ^ Pierre Grimal (1991). The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Penguin Books. p. 72.

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