Pleiades (mythology)

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The Pleiades. Painting by Elihu Vedder , 1885, Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York.

The Pleiades were considered nymphs in Greek mythology . They are the daughters of the Titan Atlas and the Oceanid Pleione . Due to their descent from Atlas, they are also known as the Atlantids .

myth

They were called the virginal companions of Artemis , whom Orion chased across the meadows of Boeotia until they were transformed into doves ( peleiades ) and placed in the sky as a constellation (see Pleiades ).

According to another narrative, saddened by the death of their brother Hyas , all of them took their own lives with their sisters, the Hyads , before they were lifted to heaven.

The Pleiades flew out as pigeons to bring the ambrosia to Zeus . They had to fly through the rock gate that the Argo had to pass through - the Plegades or Symplegaden . One of these pigeons always paid for this through-flight with their life - and was replaced by Zeus in each case - perhaps in order to fully hold the "seven stars" named after them .

Merope, the only Pleiad who married a mortal, played a major role in the fact that Sisyphus was once sent back from Hades , but was ultimately ashamed of this connection so that it shines weaker in the sky than her sisters.

Their names are:

  1. Alkyone , Halcyone : through Poseidon, the mother of Hyrieus and Aithusa , the leader of their sisters
  2. Asterope or Sterope : through Ares the mother of Oinomaos or his wife
  3. Elektra : through Zeus, the mother of Dardanos and Iasion
  4. Kelaino : through Poseidon, the mother of Lycus
  5. Maia : by Zeus the mother of Hermes , that of Callisto was close to
  6. Merope : through Sisyphus the mother of Glaucoma
  7. Taygete : through Zeus, the mother of Lacedaemon , the ancestor of the Spartans

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Pleiades  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Pleiades in the Theoi Project (English)