BRANCHUS

[Greek heroic] The legendary founder of the temple of Apollo at Didyma (Asia Minor). He was the ancestor of the Branchides, priests who managed the temple and the oracle there. When they provided Xerxes with a part of the temple's treasures to finance his expedition against the Greeks, the Branchides feared their revenge and fled to Bactriana (near Afghanistan). Alexander the Great punished their descendants for their crime.