Iasion

In Greek mythology, Iasion /ˈʒən/ (Ancient Greek: Ἰασίων, romanized: Iasíōn[1]) or Iasus /ˈəsəs/ (Ancient Greek: Ἴασος, romanized: Íasos[2]), also called Eetion /ˈɛʃən/ (Ancient Greek: Ἠετίων, romanized: Ēetíōn[3]), was the founder of the mystic rites on the island of Samothrace.

Family

Iasion was usually the son of the nymph Electra and Zeus, although other possible parentage included Zeus and Hemera or Corythus and Electra.[4][5] He was the elder brother of Dardanus, Emathion and possibly Harmonia. With Demeter, Iasion was the father of twin sons named Ploutos and Philomelus, and another son named Corybas.

Mythology

At the marriage of Cadmus and Harmonia, Iasion was lured by Demeter away from the other revelers. They had intercourse as Demeter lay on her back in a freshly plowed furrow. When they rejoined the celebration, Zeus guessed what had happened because of the mud on Demeter's backside, and out of envy killed Iasion with a thunderbolt.[3][6][7] However, some say Demeter pled so eloquently that Zeus granted his son immortality, ranking him among the lesser deities.

Some versions of this myth conclude with Iasion and the agricultural hero Triptolemus then becoming the Gemini constellation.

See also

Notes

  1. gen.: Ἰασίωνος
  2. gen.: Ἰάσου
  3. Oxyrhynchus Papyri, 1359 fr. 2 as cited in Hesiod, Ehoiai fr. 102
  4. Lactantius, Divine Institutes 1.23
  5. Servius, Commentary on Virgil's Aeneid 3.167, 7.207, 10.719
  6. Bibliotheca 3.138, Theogony 969ff, Odyssey 5.125ff.
  7. Shlain, Leonard (1998). The Alphabet Versus the Goddess. Viking Penguin. ISBN 0-14-019601-3.

References

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