In Greek mythology, Rhoeo (/ˈriːoʊ/; Ancient Greek: Ῥοιώ Rhoiṓ) was the daughter of Staphylus and Chrysothemis, sister to Parthenos and Molpadia (later named Hemithea).
Parthenius relates that she once experienced a great jealousy of her sister Hemithea when Staphylus arranged for the latter to spend a night with Lyrcus, his guest, whom both Hemithea and Rhoeo fell in love with.[1]
She became the lover of Apollo and by him the mother of Anius. When her father discovered her pregnancy, he believed she was impregnated by a man rather than a god. He placed her in a chest and cast her out to sea (parallel to Danae and Perseus). She landed on the island of Delos, which was sacred to Apollo. She gave birth to a son on the island and named him Anius (as if from ἀνιάομαι "to suffer"); she then put him on the altar of Apollo and prayed to the god that the baby be saved if it was his. Apollo concealed the child for a while, then raised him and taught him the art of divination and granted him certain honors.[2][3]
Rhoeo eventually married Zarex, son of Carystus or Carycus, who accepted Anius as his son. She had two more children with him.[4] Later, becoming a priest of Apollo and the king of Delos, Anius gave aid to Aeneas and his retinue when they were travelling from Troy to the future site of Rome.