Koronis (mother of Asclepius)
Koronis ( Greek Κορωνίς ), daughter of Phlegyas and sister of Ixion , was in Greek mythology the lover of the god Apollo and mother of the god of healing Asclepius (Roman Aesculapius ).
Apollon wooed Koronis and sent a white crow to guard her. However, Koronis loved the king Ischys , and although she was already pregnant from Apollo, she allied with him, which the white crow announced to Apollo.
Apollon was angry that the crow Koronis had not pecked out its eyes and condemned the animal to be black. He complained to his sister, the huntress Artemis , about Koronis' infidelity. Artemis then shot a whole quiver of arrows at Koronis and killed her.
When the body was laid out, Apollo felt remorse for his jealousy and for Artemis' act. But since no one could do anything for Koronis anymore, the god Hermes cut the unborn child out of the mother's womb. So Asklepios was saved and raised by the wise Centaur Cheiron , who instructed him in the art of healing.
literature
- Otto Höfer : Koronis 1 . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 2.1, Leipzig 1894, Sp. 1387-1390 ( digitized version ).
- Hans von Geisau : Koronis. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 3, Stuttgart 1969, Col. 309 f.
Web links
- Photos of depictions of the coronis in art, in the Warburg Institute Iconographic Database