Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Macris (

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 ...

: Μακρἰς meaning "far away" or "long", a reference to the elongated shape of Euboea) was a daughter of

Aristaeus Aristaeus (; ''Aristaios'') was the mythological culture hero credited with the discovery of many rural useful arts and handicrafts, including bee-keeping; He was the son of the huntress Cyrene and Apollo. ''Aristaeus'' ("the best") was a cu ...

and Autonoe.

Mythology

Macris reared the young

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...

during the goddess' early childhood. One day Hera’s future husband

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

took her away, where Mount

Cithaeron Cithaeron or Kithairon (Κιθαιρών, -ῶνος) is a mountain and mountain range about sixteen kilometres (ten miles) long in Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece. The range is the physical boundary between Boeotia region in t ...

, in the words of

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'', ...

, "afforded them a shady recess, nature’s own bridal-chamber". When Macris came looking for her ward, the mountain-god Cithaeron drove her away from the couple, saying that Zeus was taking his pleasure there with the goddess

Leto In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Leto (; ) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe (Titaness), Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...

. Hera “escaped discovery” from Macris, and was grateful to Leto for lending her name to the young lovers’ affair; implying that Hera had willingly escaped from Macris’ charge. Sometime later, Macris gave newborn

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

honey to eat on Euboea after

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

saved him. Macris was expelled from

by Hera as punishment. Macris fled to a cave on a small island where she was helped by the goddess

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

. Demeter taught the residents of the island how to grow

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

grain. According to a scholiast commenting on verses in

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' () is a Greek literature, Greek epic poem written by Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only entirely surviving Hellenistic civilization, Hellenistic epic (though Aetia (Callimachus), Callim ...

, the island she fled to was subsequently named after her.

Apollonius Rhodius Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. The poem is ...

, who composed ''Argonautica'', only refers to the island as ''Drepane'' but he does mention its connection with Macris and Demeter. Modern Scholars have identified the island with modern

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

, the historical ''Corcyra''. According to Apollonius of Rhodes, the cave where Macris once lived was later the marriage chamber for

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

and

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

, and the marriage was consummated there on the Golden Fleece. Thereafter Macris's cave was called ''Medea's Cave''.W.H. Race, ''Apollonius Rhodius: Argonautica'', pages 409-421

Notes

References

, ''

'', edited and translated by William H. Race,

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

No. 1, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

, 2009.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Conner, Nancy. "The Everything Book of Classical Mythology" 2ed. * Gifford, E. H. (1903a), ''Eusebii Pamphyli Evangelicae Praeparationis'', Volume I, Oxford, E. Typographeo Academico, 1903
Internet Archive
* Gifford, E. H. (1903b), ''Eusebii Pamphyli Evangelicae Praeparationis'', Volume III, Oxford, E. Typographeo Academico, 1903
Internet Archive
*

, ''

Moralia The ''Moralia'' (Latin for "Morals", "Customs" or "Mores"; , ''Ethiká'') is a set of essays ascribed to the 1st-century scholar Plutarch of Chaeronea. The eclectic collection contains 78 essays and transcribed speeches. They provide insigh ...

, Volume XV: Fragments'', translated by F. H. Sandbach,

No. 429, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 1969.
Online version at Harvard University Press
Women in Greek mythology Mythology of Dionysus Argonautica Deeds of Demeter Deeds of Hera {{Greek-myth-stub