Battus (stammer) In Greek mythology, a shepherd of Pylos who saw Hermes steal the cattle of Apollo. Battus promised not to divulge the theft but broke his promise and was turned into stone. The story of Battus’s transformation is told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses (book 2). The name is also borne by a king of Cyrene, son of Polymnestus, a Theraean noble, and Phronime, daughter of Etearchus. That Battus founded Cyrene in Libya and was cured of his stammer when he was frightened by a lion.
SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow– Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante