Chrysaor

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Chrysaor (disambiguation) .

Edward Burne-Jones : Birth of Pegasus and Chrysaor , circa 1876–1885

Chrysaor ( ancient Greek Χρυσάωρ , "gold sword") is a warrior from Greek mythology who, together with his brother Pegasus , jumped out of Medusa's neck when she was beheaded by Perseus .

myth

The earliest narration of the myth can be found in the theogony of Hesiod , where Perseus beheaded Medusa and explains that Pegasus got his name because of the place of birth at the sources of Oceanus and Chrysaor his because of the golden sword, which he already received at his birth holds in hands. The "black curly" Poseidon is named as the father of the two . Chrysaor himself is married to the Oceanid Kallirrhoë and the father of the three-headed Geryones , who is killed by Heracles when he has to steal the herd of cattle from Geryones as one of his twelve tasks.

More recent stories are all based on the description of Hesiod, as a mythical figure Chrysaor is hardly further developed and mostly he is only briefly mentioned in the context of the Medusa myth or the Geryon myth.

A noteworthy transformation is only attested in Diodorus , where Chrysaor is ruler of Iberia and has not a three-headed son, but three sons, each of whom has an army. Heracles defeats each of the three sons in battle, subjugating all of Iberia before he captures the Geryones cattle herd.

Interpretations

For Otto Jessen , based on the traditions, it cannot be decided whether Chrysaor is merely a genealogical link between Medusa and Geryones or whether he is to be regarded as the personification of lightning, thunder cloud, rain or other natural phenomena. According to Karl Kerényi , so little is told about Chrysaor in the mythological tale because this is only said to have been the early name of Bellerophon , the grandson of Sisyphus and son of Glaucus , who received Pegasus as a gift from Poseidon and ultimately failed when he wanted to storm Olympus with this one .

literature

• Otto Jessen : Chrysaor 1. In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 2, Stuttgart 1899, Col. 2484.
• Karl Kerényi : The mythology of the Greeks - The hero stories . dtv, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-423-30031-0 .
• Heinrich Wilhelm Stoll : Chrysaor 1 . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1,1, Leipzig 1886, column 895 ( digitized version ).

Web links

• Chrysaor in the Theoi Project

Remarks

1. ↑ Hesiod , Theogony 280-283.
2. ↑ Hesiod, Theogony 278-279.
3. ↑ Hesiod, Theogony 287-288 ; 980-983.
4. ↑ Libraries of Apollodor 2,4,2 ; 2.5.10.
5. ^ Hyginus Mythographus Fabulae praefatio . 30. 151; Pausanias 1,35,7.
6. ↑ Diodorus 4,17,2.
7. ↑ Diodorus 4,18,2.