Electryone

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In Greek mythology, Electryone (Ancient Greek: Ἠλεκτρυώνην) or Alectrona (Doric form) was a daughter of Helios and Rhodos, and sister to the Heliadae.[1] She died a virgin and was worshipped as a heroine on the island of Rhodes.[2]

She was possibly a goddess of the sunrise, or of man's waking sense. The Doric form of her name is akin to the Greek word for "rooster" (Alectrona, the feminine genitive of Αλεκτορ, Alektor, the ancient Greek word for "rooster"), while the Attic form Electryone is akin to the word for "amber" (Ἠλέκτρα, Elektra), as in the amber color of sunrise.

A marble tablet from the 3rd century BC found in Ialyssus contains an inscription about the regulations for visitors to the temple of Alectrona.[3]

Genealogy[edit]

Greek sea gods
GaiaUranus
OceanusTethys
The PotamoiThe Oceanids
PontusThalassa
NereusThaumasPhorcysCetoEurybiaThe TelchinesHaliaPoseidonAphrodite[4]
EchidnaGorgonGraeaeLadonHesperidesThoosa[5]HeliosRhodos
SthenoDeinoHeliadaeElectryone
EuryaleEnyo
Medusa[6]Pemphredo

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Scholia on Pindar, Olympian Odes 7.24
  2. ^ Diodorus Siculus, 5.56.5
  3. ^ "Regulations for Visitors to the Temple of Alectrona at Ialysus"
  4. ^ There are two major conflicting stories for Aphrodite's origins: Hesiod (Theogony) claims that she was "born" from the foam of the sea after Cronus castrated Uranus, thus making her Uranus' daughter; but Homer (Iliad, book V) has Aphrodite as daughter of Zeus and Dione. According to Plato (Symposium 180e), the two were entirely separate entities: Aphrodite Ourania and Aphrodite Pandemos.
  5. ^ Homer, Odyssey, 1.70–73, names Thoosa as a daughter of Phorcys, without specifying a mother.
  6. ^ Most sources describe Medusa as the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, though the author Hyginus (Fabulae Preface) makes Medusa the daughter of Gorgon and Ceto.

References[edit]