(Θύρσος), a freedman of Octavian, whom the latter sent to Cleopatra at Alexandria, after the battle of Actium. Dio Cassius relates that Octavian made love to Cleopatra by means of Thyrsus, to induce her to betray Antony; but Plutarch simply states that Thyrsus, through his frequent interviews with Cleopatra, excited the suspicions of Antony, who seized and whipped him, and sent him back to Octavian. (D. C. 51.8, 9; Plut. Ant. 73.)
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology
Smith, William
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. William Smith, LLD, ed. 1890