Glaucus, son of Minos, king of Crete, was playing when a child and
fell into a large vat of honey, in which he was suffocated. The child
being lost the king sent for Polyidus of Argos, a famous magician, and
ordered him to discover his son. Polyidus having found the dead body
in the honey, it occurred to Minos that so clever a man could also
bring him back to life. He therefore commanded that the magician should
be put into the same vat. While perplexed at the problem before him,
Polyidus saw a serpent creeping towards the vat. He seized the beast
and killed him. Presently another serpent came, and looked on his dead
friend. The second went out of the place for a few minutes and returned
with a certain herb which he applied to the dead reptile and soon
restored him to life. Polyidus took the hint and used the same herb on
Glaucus with an equally satisfactory result. He restored him to his
father, who loaded the sorcerer with gifts. Unfortunately in telling
the other details of this history the narrator has forgotten to inform
us of the name of the herb which possessed such precious properties.
Polyidus, according to Pausanias, was a nephew of Melampus.