Son of Herakles and Auge who takes the baby to Mysia (Asia Minor) where he is suckled by a hind. He confronts the Greeks on their way to Troy and is wounded by Achilles, and later healed by the touch of his spear. To secure this he went to Argos and took the infant Orestes hostage, forcing Agamemnon's assistance. The subject of a frieze on the Great Altar at Pergamon.
Above: Telephos and the infant Orestes. Detail from an Athenian red-figure clay vase, about 380-360 BC. Boston Museum of Fine Arts © Boston Museum of Fine Arts