Keyx (son of Heosphorus)
Keyx ( Greek Κήυξ , Latinized Ceyx " kingfisher ") is a son of Eosphorus and the nymph Philonis , as well as consort of Alkyons , daughter of Aiolus . Some authors (such as Ovid ) also identify him with the mythical king of Trachis , as he is called by Hesiod .
According to Ovid's account, Keyx was deeply attached to his wife and ruled his empire in peace without violence and weapons. On the crossing to Ionia , where he wanted to ask the Apollon oracle about Klaros about the death of his brother Daidalion , his ship was hit by a strong storm and sank on the spot. His last words are said to have been for his beloved wife. She knew nothing of the accident and wove clothes on the occasion of his return. But when she had prayed for his safe return at the altar of Juno , she sent the messenger of the gods Iris to Somnus . He sent Morpheus , the god of waking and true dreams, to Alcyone. He should appear to the poor woman in the dream as her husband and report the misfortune. Her grief was great, and when she complained on the beach about which she had looked after the parting party, she discovered Keyx's corpse and threw herself into the depths.
But they were both transformed into halcyones ( Lieste , a subspecies of the kingfishers) by the merciful gods . Alkyone's father Aiolos granted them seven days of calm during the breeding season, the proverbial " Halcyon Days ".
Remarks
- ^ Ovid, Metamorphosen 11, 410-748
- ↑ Hyginus , Fabulae 65: "deorum misericordia"
literature
- Heinrich Wilhelm Stoll : Keyx 2 . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 2.1, Leipzig 1894, column 1182 ( digitized version ).
