Telephassa (; , "far-shining"), also spelled
Telephaassa (; ) and
Telephe (; ), is a lunar
epithet in
Greek mythology that is sometimes substituted for
Argiope the wife of
Agenor, according to his name a "leader of men" in
Phoenicia, and mother of
Cadmus. In some versions she is the daughter of
Nilus, god of the
Nile and
Nephele, a soft cloud
oceanid. She had several children, including
Europa,
Cilix,
Cadmus,
Thasus, who gave his name to an island next to
Samothrace, and
Phoenix. Thasus is sometimes said to be her grandchild by Cilix. Her husband was
Agenor or perhaps Phoenix in a version in which Cadmus and Europa and their brothers are children of Phoenix (see
Agenor and Phoenix).
