Cercopes

They were two brothers, but their names are given variously: Accounts of their origins vary depending on the context, but they are usually known as sons of Theia and Oceanus, thus ancient spirits.

[9] In another myth,[10] designed to explain their name ("tail-men" in Greek), Zeus changed the Cercopes into monkeys.

This story inspired modern zoologists to name the genus of monkeys depicted in Minoan frescoes as Cercopithecus.

Monkeys figure in four Minoan frescos at Akrotiri, most famously in the crocus-gathering Xeste 3 fresco, where the monkey's ritual aspect, attending an enthroned female, is interpreted by Nanno Marinatos as servants of the divinity, acting as intermediary between humanity and the divine world.

When scholars attempted to account for this exotic image they have been forced to search farther afield: The story of Herakles and the Cercopes has been interpreted as a reminiscence of Phoenician traders bringing apes to Greek markets.