Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Arke or Arce ( grc-gre, Ἄρκη, ''Árkē'', meaning "swift") is one of the daughters of

Thaumas In Greek mythology, Thaumas (; grc, ; grc, , label=gen.) was a sea god, son of Pontus and Gaia, and the full brother of Nereus, Phorcys, Ceto and Eurybia. Etymology Plato associates Thaumas' name with ("wonder"). Mythology According to He ...

and

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

. During the

Titanomachy In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy (; grc, , , Titan battle) was a ten-year series of battles fought in Ancient Thessaly, consisting of most of the Titans (the older generation of gods, based on Mount Othrys) fighting against the Olympians (t ...

, Arke fled from the Olympians' camp and joined the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...

, unlike Iris who remained loyal to

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

and his allies. After the war was over and the Titans with their allies were defeated, Zeus cut off her wings and cast Arke into

Tartarus In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; grc, , }) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's ''Gorgias'' (), souls are judg ...

Mythology

She and Iris were both messenger goddesses. During the

, she sided with the

against the Olympian gods; she became the messenger for the Titans, while Iris became the messenger of the Olympian Gods. When the Olympian gods won,

punished Arke. She was deprived of her wings and cast into

, together with the vanquished Titans. Arke's wings were later given to

Peleus In Greek mythology, Peleus (; Ancient Greek: Πηλεύς ''Pēleus'') was a hero, king of Phthia, husband of Thetis and the father of their son Achilles. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC. Biogra ...

and

Thetis Thetis (; grc-gre, Θέτις ), is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, or one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as ...

as a gift on their wedding day; Thetis later gave them to her son

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...

, which is thought to be the derivation of his surname ''Podarces'' (literally "swift-footed", as if from , gen. "foot" + the name of Arke). In Eumelus of Corinth's lost epic ''

'', it seems that the messenger of the Titans was called Ithas, identified with Prometheus. Kerényi (1997), p. 50

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Photius, '' Bibliotheca'' excerpts, sections 1-166 translated by John Henry Freese, from the SPCK edition of 1920, now in the public domain, and other brief excerpts from subsequent sections translated by Roger Pearse (from the French translation by René Henry, ed. Les Belles Lettres).

External links

ARKE from the Theoi Project
Greek goddesses Messenger goddesses Condemned souls in Tartarus Sky and weather goddesses Avian humanoids Deeds of Zeus {{Greek-deity-stub

Mythology

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links