Megistias
Μεγιστίας
(Μεγιστίας), a celebrated soothsayer, a native of Acarnania, who traced his descent up to Melampus. He was present at the battle of Thermopylae; and though he foresaw by his art the fatal issue of the conflict, refused to quit his post, though requested to withdraw by Leonidas. He sent away his only son, but himself remained and was killed. A separate monument was erected to his memory with an inscription by his friend Simonides, which is quoted by Herodotus. (Hdt. 7.219, 221, 228.) Plutarch (Apophth. Lacon. vol. ii. p. 221e.) gives the name Themisteas to the soothsayer whom Leonidas wished to send away.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.