Mnemosyne — Classical Greek Myth Library

To win Pero for his brother Bias, Melampus tried to steal the cattle of Phylacus (or of Iphiclus son of Phylacus) at Phylace and was caught. Imprisoned, he heard woodworms in the roof-beam say how long until the timber would fall; he demanded transfer and so escaped death when the roof collapsed. Phylacus, recognizing the seer’s power, asked him to cure Iphiclus, who could beget no children. Melampus learned (from vultures or from sacrificial signs) that Phylacus, chasing Iphiclus with a gelding-knife (or bloody knife) when the boy was young, had stuck the knife in a sacred oak (or tree); bark had grown over it. Melampus retrieved the rusted knife, scraped the rust into wine, and gave it to Iphiclus as medicine. Iphiclus begot Podarces (and in some lines Protesilaus’s line is linked). Phylacus then gave Melampus the cattle; Bias married Pero. Catalogue the imprisonment, worm-prophecy, and rust-cure apart from the wider Melampus career and the Proetides.