Alkyoneus

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Detail of the Pergamon Altar .

Alkyoneus ( Greek  Ἀλκυονεύς ) is a giant of Greek mythology .

myth

Alkyoneus is mentioned in the list of names in the library of Apollodorus as the son of Gaia and the blood of Uranus , which falls on Gaia when he is emasculated. In the list of names of the Dionysiacs of Nonnos only the mother Gaia is mentioned. After Pindar , Alkyoneus is the oldest of the giants.

In the library , Alkyoneus is immortal as long as he resides in his native land. Consequently, Heracles' arrows do not harm him in the Gigantomachy until he is dragged away from Pallene . He is wounded with an arrow by Heracles when he tries to storm the heavenly apartment of the gods. As a result of being wounded, he falls down to earth, but through this contact with his mother Gaia he gains new strength and attacks the gods again. Heracles' arrow hits him again, but on the advice of Athena , the latter grabs him immediately after the new fall, pulls him out of his hometown and thus deprives him of his source of strength, whereupon he dies.

In Nonnos Dionysiaka , Alkyoneus is thrown back by Bacchus with a hail of bullets made of leaves. Only when Gaia promises him Artemis as bed-mate in the event of victory does he continue fighting. He attacks Bacchus armed with a rock, but Bacchus defends himself with a grapevine. As soon as the grapevine touches the rock, it shatters and Alkyoneus is disarmed.

But before he died in the Gigantomachy, Alkyoneus had a number of daughters, the so-called Alkyoniden or Alken . These, their names were Alkippe , Anthe , Asterie , Drimo , Methone , Pallene and Phtonia , were so mournful over the death of their father that they threw themselves from the Kanastra promontory into the sea. But the Amphitrite saved their lives and turned them into kingfishers.

literature

Web links

Commons : Alkyoneus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Libraries of Apollodorus 1, 34-38.
  2. ^ Nonnos : Dionysiaka 25, 85.
  3. Pindar : Isthmian Ode 6, 2.
  4. ^ Libraries 1, 34.
  5. ^ Nonnos: Dionysiaka 25, 85 ff.
  6. ^ Nonnos: Dionysiaka 48, 6 ff.
  7. Suda , keyword Alkyonides hemerai ( Ἀλκυονίδες ἡμέραι ), Adler number: alpha 1298 , Suda-Online
  8. Eustathios : Scholium to Homer's Iliad 1, 563.