CINYRAS

Form: Kinyras.

Supposed, in the Greek mythology, to have been king of Cyprus, the oldest priest of Aphrodite in Paphos, the founderof that city, and the ancestor of the priestly family of the Cinyradae. His wealth and long life, bestowed upon him by Aphrodite, were proverbial; and from Apollo, who was said to be his father, he received the gift of song. He was accounted the founder of the ancient hymns sung at the services of the Paphian Aphrodite and of Adonis. Consequently he was reckoned among the oldest singers and musicians, his name, indeed, being Phoenician, derived from kinnor, a harp. The story added that he was the father of Adonis by his own daughter Myrrha, and that, when made aware of the sin, he tock away his own life.