Iasion

In Greek mythology, Iasion /aɪˈeɪʒən/ (Ancient Greek: Ἰασίων, romanized: Iasíōn^[1]) or Iasus /ˈaɪəsəs/ (Ancient Greek: Ἴασος, romanized: Íasos^[2]), also called Eetion /iːˈɛʃən/ (Ancient Greek: Ἠετίων, romanized: Ēetíōn^[3]), was the founder of the mystic rites on the island of Samothrace.

Family[]

Iasion was usually the son of the nymph Electra and Zeus, although other possible parentage included Zeus and Hemera^{[citation needed]} or Corythus and Electra.^[4][5] He was the elder brother of Dardanus, Emathion and possibly Harmonia. With Demeter, Iasion was the father of twin sons named Ploutos and Philomelus, and another son named Corybas.

Mythology[]

At the marriage of Cadmus and Harmonia, Iasion was lured by Demeter away from the other revelers. They had intercourse as Demeter lay on her back in a freshly plowed furrow. When they rejoined the celebration, Zeus guessed what had happened because of the mud on Demeter's backside, and out of envy killed Iasion with a thunderbolt.^[3][6][7] However, some say Demeter pled so eloquently that Zeus granted his son immortality, ranking him among the lesser deities.

Some versions of this myth conclude with Iasion and the agricultural hero Triptolemus then becoming the Gemini constellation.

Notes[]

References[]

• Hesiod, Theogony from The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Homer, The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. ISBN 978-0674995611. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Lactantius, Divine Institutes, Translated by William Fletcher (1810-1900). From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 7. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.) Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Maurus Servius Honoratus, In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii; recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Pseudo-Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.

External links[]

• Theoi Project - Iasion
  

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