Iarbas

Iarbas (or Hiarbas) was a Roman mythological character, who has appeared in works by various authors including Ovid and Virgil. The character is possibly based on a historical king of Numidia.

In Roman mythology, Iarbas was the son of Jupiter Hammon (Hammon was a North African god associated by the Romans with Jupiter, and known for his oracle) and a Garamantian nymph. He became the king of Getulia. According to Virgil's Aeneid, he was a suitor for the Carthaginian queen Dido, who rejected his advances.

Variations of the story were referred to by Ovid. In Ovid's Heroides, Dido describes Iarbas as one of her suitors, to whom Aeneas would be handing her over as a captive if he should leave her. In Ovid's Fasti, Iarbas and the Numidians invade Dido's land after her suicide, resulting in his capturing her palace.

Macrobius, and Pompeius Trogus also tell versions of the myth; in Justin's epitome of Pompeius he is king of the Muxitani.

Silius Italicus, in his epic poem Punica borrows the name of Hiarbas for one of his characters. Hiarbas is the Garamantian leader of the Gaetuli, Nasamones and Macae and the father of Asbyte, one of the Carthaginian leaders in the Second Punic War. He traces his ancestry back to Jupiter. He is killed by the Saguntine hero Murrus.

Iarbas is briefly referenced in Dante's Purgatorio as owning part of the land south of Italy. Iarbas is also a character in Christopher Marlowe's play Dido, Queen of Carthage.