Alkonost VS Asteria (mythology)

Alkonost

The Alkonost is, according to Russian mythos and folklore, a woman-headed bird. It makes amazingly beautiful sounds, and those who hear these sounds f...

The Alkonost is, according to Russian mythos and folklore, a woman-headed bird. It makes amazingly beautiful sounds, and those who hear these sounds forget everything they know and want nothing more ever again. She lives in the underworld with her counterpart, the Sirin. The Alkonost lays her eggs on a beach and then rolls them into the sea. When the Alkonost's eggs hatch, a thunderstorm sets in and the sea becomes so rough that it becomes impossible to traverse. She is also the sister of other birds from Slavic mythology, such as Rarog and Stratim.According to folk tales, at the morning of the Apple Feast of the Saviour day, Sirin flies into the apple orchard and cries sadly. In the afternoon, the Alkonost flies to this place, beginning to rejoice and laugh. Alkonost brushes dew from her wings, granting healing powers to all fruits on the tree she is sitting on.The name of the Alkonost came from a Greek demigoddess whose name was Alcyone. In Greek mythology, Alcyone was transformed by the gods into a kingfisher.Alkonost is more likely an individual character, as was noted in some legends about this bird.

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Asteria (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Asteria (; Ancient Greek: Ἀστερία, "of the stars, starry one") was a name attributed to the following eleven individuals: Aster...

In Greek mythology, Asteria (; Ancient Greek: Ἀστερία, "of the stars, starry one") was a name attributed to the following eleven individuals: Asteria, a Titaness. Asteria or Astris, daughter of Helios and Clymene or Ceto, one of the Heliades. She married the river god Hydaspes (the modern Jhelum River) and became mother of Deriades, king in India. Asteria, one of the Danaïdes, daughters of Danaus who, with one exception, murdered their husbands on their wedding nights. She was, briefly, the bride of Chaetus. Asteria, one of the Alkyonides. Along with her sisters, she flung herself into the sea and was transformed into a kingfisher. Asteria, daughter of Hydeus, was the mother of Hydissos by Bellerophon. Her son is known for having founded a city in Caria which was named after him. Asteria, daughter of Coronus, and Apollo were possible parents of the seer Idmon. Asteria or Asterodia, mother of Crisus and Panopeus by Phocus. Asteria, daughter of Teucer and Eune of Cyprus. Asteria, the ninth Amazon killed by Heracles when he came for Hippolyte's girdle. Asteria, an Athenian maiden who was one of the would-be sacrificial victims of Minotaur, portrayed in a vase painting.Christoph Willibald Gluck gave the name Asteria to one of the characters in his 1765 opera Telemaco, though the name did not appear in Homer's Odyssey on which the opera was based.

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