The ancient Greek word aithôn means "burning", "blazing" or "shining." Less strictly, it can denote the colour red-brown, or "tawny." It is an epithet...
The ancient Greek word aithôn means "burning", "blazing" or "shining." Less strictly, it can denote the colour red-brown, or "tawny." It is an epithet sometimes applied to animals such as horses at Hom. Il. 2.839 ; oxen at Od.18.372; and an eagle at Il. 15.690 (cf. Hyginus' calling the eagle that tormented Prometheus an aethonem aquilam at Fabulae 31.5.). The eagle who tormented Prometheus, Aethon, was the child of the monsters Typhon and Echidna. In English, aithôn may be written Aethon, Aithon or Ethon. In Greek and Roman mythology there are a number of characters known as Aethon. Most are horses, variously belonging to: Helios Ares Hector Pallas Hades (Claudian)The name is twice applied to humans. In Odyssey 19.183, it is the pseudonym a disguised Odysseus assumes during his interview with Penelope upon his return to Ithaca. According to fr. 43a.5 of Hesiod's Catalogue of Women, Erysichthon of Thessaly was also known as Aethon due to the "burning" hunger (aithôn limos) he was made to endure by Demeter.
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Nyctimene (mythology)
Nyctimene was, according to Roman mythology, the daughter of Epopeus, a king of Lesbos. In some versions of the story she was raped by their father, w...
Nyctimene was, according to Roman mythology, the daughter of Epopeus, a king of Lesbos. In some versions of the story she was raped by their father, while in others she was seduced seduced. Out of shame or guilt, she fled to the forest and refused to show her face in daylight. Taking pity on her, Minerva transformed her into the nocturnal owl which, in time, became a widespread symbol of the goddess. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, the transformation was a punishment for an unspecified crime.In Metamorphoses, Cornix (the crow) complains that her place as Minerva's sacred bird is being usurped by Nyctimene, who is so ashamed of herself that she will not be seen by daylight.Her name has been given to a genus of bats and an asteroid.
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