Half-Olympian son of Apollo by Manto daughter of Tiresias — over-determined as a prophet-figure through both paternal Apollonian descent and maternal Theban-prophet grandfather. Conceived after the Epigoni sack of Thebes, when Manto was sent as part of the spoils to Delphi and Apollo took her as consort. Born at Claros in Ionia. Established or expanded the Apollonian oracle at Claros — the second-most-important Apollonian oracle after Delphi, with the prophetic Mopsidai prophet-clan continuing the hereditary lineage. Defeated Calchas the Achaean seer in the famous seer-contest at Colophon (per Hesiod fr. 278) — Calchas asked the number of figs on the wild fig-tree, Mopsus answered "ten thousand and a bushel and one fig left over"; Calchas asked the number of pigs in a sow's womb, Mopsus answered "ten, one male, the rest female, born tomorrow at the sixth hour" — both proven correct. It had been prophesied that Calchas would die when he met a seer wiser than himself; Calchas died of grief. With Amphilochus son of Amphiaraus, traveled south through Cilicia and Pamphylia founding cities — Mallus in Cilicia, Phaselis in Lycia, Pamphylian settlements; the post-Trojan-War colonization cycle is foundational for the Greek mythological mapping of Anatolian foundations. Killed in single combat with Amphilochus over the kingship of Mallus; both fell, each killing the other. The 8th-century BCE Karatepe bilingual inscription naming the Cilician royal "house of Mopsos" (Phoenician bt mpš, Luwian Muksas) provides a possible historical-archaeological anchor for the legendary seer, making this one of the most-cited examples of legendary genealogy with potential Late Bronze Age historical grounding (the Hittite imperial records also reference Muksus, suggesting an even earlier Anatolian-Aegean cognate).