father of Cleito in Greek mythology

Evenor

Evenor is a figure of Greek mythology who appears in Plato's dialogues about Atlantis. He matters because, according to the story, he is the father of Cleito and therefore the ancestor of the line of Atlantean kings.

The myth

In Plato's Critias, Evenor was one of the first men born from the earth on Atlantis, which was then uninhabited. He lived with his wife Leucippe on a low hill, about fifty stadia from the sea.

The couple had a single daughter, Cleito. When she reached marriageable age, her parents died. In Plato's account, Poseidon lay with Cleito and she bore five pairs of twin sons; the eldest, Atlas, became the first king of Atlantis, while his brothers ruled as subordinate governors.

Legacy

His figure belongs to the Atlantis story, the legend preserved in the dialogues Timaeus and Critias and remembered as one of the best-known tales of a lost city.

Ancient sources: Plato mentions him in the dialogues Timaeus and Critias, where the story of Atlantis is told.