According to

Pseudo-Plutarch Pseudo-Plutarch is the conventional name given to the actual, but unknown, authors of a number of pseudepigrapha (falsely attributed works) attributed to Plutarch but now known not to have been written by him. Some of these works were included in s ...

's '' Treatise on Rivers and Mountains'', Lilaeus (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: , ''Lílaios'') was an Indian shepherd who angered the gods and was punished for it.

Mythology

A shepherd in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

named Lilaeus acknowledged only the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

(the goddess

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

) among the gods, and only honoured her by performing her rituals and mysteries during the night. The other gods were angered over his actions and rejection of them, and sent two wild lions that tore him apart. Selene then transformed her adorer into a mountain, known as Mount Lilaeon (Ancient Greek: , ''Lílaion''), situated somewhere near the

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

river.

, ''Treatise on Rivers and Mountains'
25.4
/ref>

Origins

The author of ''Treatise on Rivers and Mountains'', now known not to have been the actual

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, attributed this story to Clitophon the

Rhodian Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

's first book of ''Indian Relations'', perhaps writing down a local Indian tale using the names of the Greek gods via ''

interpretatio graeca , or "interpretation by means of Greek odels, refers to the tendency of the ancient Greeks to identify foreign deities with their own gods. It is a discourse used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cult ...

''. This work, probably dating to the second century AD, is today thought to be some sort of

paradoxography Paradoxography is a genre of classical literature which deals with the occurrence of abnormal or inexplicable phenomena of the natural or human worlds (Latin ''mirabilia'', 'marvels, miracles'). The term ''paradoxographos'' (paradoxographer) was co ...

, or a parody of paradoxography, and was probably written in a humorous, non-serious tone.

Notes

References

* * * {{Authority control Selene Metamorphoses into terrain in Greek mythology Indian characters in Greek mythology Fictional shepherds

Mythology

Origins

See also

Notes

References