His father, Polymnestus, was a Therean nobleman; Herodotus reports that the Cyrenes identify his mother as Phronima, daughter of Etearchus or Eteachos by his first wife, was King of Oaxus (a city on the Greek island of Crete).
When Etearchus heard of this, he befriended a Therean merchant living in Oaxus called Themiston and convinced him to swear an oath that he would perform any task the king asked him to do.
[6] In c. 639 BC the king of Thera, Grinus, travelled from the island to visit the oracle of Delphi, to seek advice on various matters.
The men landed on Platea and left Corobius there with enough supplies for a short while and then returned to their island bringing good news about finding the new colony.
Luckily, a Samian vessel bound for Egypt under command of Colaeus was re-routed to Platea due to poor weather conditions.
Colaeus and his crew were anxious to reach their destination as easterly winds prevented them from travelling to Egypt and they were driven as west as the Pillar of Hercules (modern Strait of Gibraltar).
When the two ships had reached the coast, Battus could not decide what next to do and ordered that they sail back home.
Leaving one man on the island, they returned to Delphi and consulted the Oracle again about Libya and their current poor conditions.
After a treaty with the locals, the Libyans persuaded them to leave Aziris and took them west through fine agricultural country called Irasa to Apollo's Fountain.
The Libyan guides told Battus and his group of men "this is the place for you settle in, for here there is a hole in the sky".
He was also apparently a vigorous ruler, successful in cementing a colony and taking advantages of the natural surrounding environment.
He is represented riding in a chariot driven by the nymph of Cyrene, with a figure symbolising Libya in the act of crowning him King.