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According to Greek tradition, the hero Cadmus was the ancestor of Thales of Miletus. This article analyzes this genealogy in order to provide insights into the ancient Greek approach to the cultural past, examining the problematic relationships between myth and history and proposing a new methodological approach. While certain kinds of historical memory can be discerned within this genealogy, it is above all a historical discourse that reorganizes knowledge of the past and reshapes it in accordance with ancient Greek religious beliefs. Comparing the depictions and functions of Cadmus and Thales, both key figures in the spread of learning and knowledge from the eastern to the western Aegean, reveals that ancient Greek historical memory was structured around precise imaginary representations. Transmitted by myth, the Greek concept of history becomes a kind of religious logos, a discourse constructed according to an incontestable logic.