Basilea was the first queen of the legendary

Kingdom of Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world, ...

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 ...

folk tradition.

Legend

Basilea was the eldest and one of the most celebrated daughters of

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a Supercritical fluid, supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or Volatile ( ...

, who had forty-five children by various wives, including Rhea and

Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hesiod related it, each god cooperated by giving her unique gifts. Her other name—inscribed against her figure on a white-ground '' ky ...

. Basilea became known as the “Great Mother” due to the solicitous way in which she cared for her younger brothers. After her father’s death, she was elected Queen of

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

by popular vote. She married her brother Hyperion and had two children:

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 ...

and

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

, the goddess of the moon and god of the sun, respectively. However, her other brothers murdered Hyperion, for fear that he might usurp the throne, and drowned Helios in the River Eridanus or Po in Italy. Out of love for her brother, Selene committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

by jumping from a rooftop. Upon learning of the death of her children, Basilea went mad and “wandered up and down, with hair disheveled and bedizened with ornaments, playing wildly on the timbrel and cymbal.” When the people of Atlantis tried to restrain her, she disappeared into a terrible lightning storm. In honor of Basilea and her children, divine rites were established.

Identification with Theia

Basilea is often confused for

Theia Theia (; , also rendered Thea or Thia), also called Euryphaessa (, "wide-shining"), is one of the twelve Titans, the children of the earth goddess Gaia and the sky god Uranus in Greek mythology. She is the Greek goddess of sight and vision, an ...

, the more accepted mother of Selene, Helios, and in addition, Eos, and wife to Hyperion. It is unsure whether or not they are the same figure.

Identification with Aphrodite and Venus

Basilea is also mentioned quite differently in other versions. She is listed as a daughter of Coelus and

Terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scient ...

, and is implied to be the mother of all gods. It is also implied that she is another version of

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

(

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

References

{{Reflist Atlanteans Queens in Greek mythology Aphrodite

Legend

Identification with Theia

Identification with Aphrodite and Venus

See also

References