Editing Crinisus (section)

==Myth==
[[Lycophron]]'s ''Alexandra'' contains the first known version of this myth. When [[Troy]] was under attack from a sea monster, king [[Laomedon of Troy|Laomedon]] instructed mariners to take the three daughters of [[Phoenodamas]] to die of exposure and be devoured by wild beasts. They were taken to [[Sicily]], but survived there, and built a great shrine to [[Aphrodite]] in thanks. The [[Crinisus (river)|River Crimissus]], in the likeness of a dog, took one of them (not named by Lycophron) as his bride, and had a son with her. Their son (also not named here) became the "settler and founder of three places" (generally considered to be [[Segesta]], [[Eryx (Sicily)|Eryx]], and [[Entella]]), and guided [[Elymus (mythology)|Elymus]] from [[Dardanus (city)|Dardanus]] to western Sicily. He concludes by saying that the people of Aegesta ([[Segesta]]) continue to mourn the loss of [[Troy]] long after its destruction (''Alexandra'', 951–977).

[[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'' briefly describes [[Acestes]] as being "born of a Trojan mother to the river god Crinisus" (''Aeneid'', 5.38), and [[Gaius Julius Hyginus]] also calls Acestes "son of the river Crinisus" (''Fabulae'', 273).

[[Servius the Grammarian]]'s commentary on the ''Aeneid'' gives the most complete version of the myth. After [[Neptune]] and [[Apollo]] built the walls of [[Troy]], and were refused their promised reward by king [[Laomedon of Troy|Laomedon]], Neptune sent sea monsters to the city, and Apollo decreed that the daughters of the nobility should be attacked by them. Fearing for his daughter Egesta, Hippotes (or Isostratus) sent her away from Troy in a ship, which was carried to [[Sicily]] on winds sent by the [[Crinisus (river)|River Crimissus]]. Crimissus turned into a bear or a dog and mated with her, producing Egestus, who founded the Trojan city of Egesta there, named after his mother, which later became known as [[Segesta]]. Servius also notes that Virgil used poetic license to change the river god's name from Crimissus to Crinisus, and his son's name from Egestus to Acestes (''Commentary on the Aeneid'', 1.550).

In contrast to this, [[Claudius Aelianus]]' ''Varia Historia'' stated that the people of Segesta "honour the Porpax, Crimisus, and Telmessus in the form of men" (''Varia Historia'', 2.33).

[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]' ''Roman Antiquities'' has a different version of the story, with [[Acestes]]' father as "a youth of distinguished family", who was in love with Acestes' mother, accompanied her from Troy, and married her when they arrived in Sicily (''Roman Antiquities'', 1.52.1–4).