Lapithus
Lapithus is a figure in Greek mythology traditionally regarded as the eponymous founder or ancestor of the Lapiths, a legendary people of Thessaly. The Lapiths are frequently depicted in ancient myth as a civilized tribe who eventually confront the centaurs, their neighbors in the Thessalian plains. In various Greek genealogies Lapithus may be described as an autochthonous progenitor or as an early king whose line gives rise to the Lapiths, with Pirithous later known as one of their most notable rulers. Because ancient sources differ, exact parentage and birth narratives for Lapithus vary, and the figure often serves a genealogical rather than a narrative function.
The best-known myth involving the Lapiths is the centauromachy, a battle between Lapiths and centaurs that
In scholarship and classical lexica, Lapithus is treated primarily as the eponymous founder rather than a central