In ancient Greek mythology, Aristaeus (or Aristaios) was credited with the discovery of bee-keeping. He was the son of Apollo and the huntress Cyrene. Aristeus (meaning “the best”) became a cult title in many places in the Mediterranean. Which, co-incidentally, is where I was born!
More about Aristeus can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristaeus.
Bee Lore 
[…] Bee-keeping shows up in Greek mythology. Aristaeus, apparently the dicsoverer of beekeeping (https://beelore.com/2007/07/22/aristaeus-discoverer-of-beekeeping/) lost his hives to disease. He compelled Proteus (a shape-changer, who was also the wise god of […]
[…] Also see one of my first entries on Aristaeus: https://beelore.com/2007/07/22/aristaeus-discoverer-of-beekeeping/ […]