In Greek mythology, Lotis ( Ancient Greek: Λωτίς) was a nymph mentioned by Ovid.

Mythology

In his (Ovid) account, at the Liberalia festival,

Priapus In Greek mythology, Priapus (; grc, Πρίαπος, ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term ...

tried to rape her when everyone had fallen asleep, but she was awakened by a sudden cry of Silenus's donkey and ran off, leaving Priapus in embarrassment as everyone else woke up too and became aware of his intentions. In another account, she was changed into a lotus tree to escape Priapus; later, Dryope picked a flower off the tree Lotis had become, and was transformed into a

black poplar ''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus ''Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref> ...

. In Book 6 of the '' Fasti'' Ovid tells much the same story, but with the goddess Vesta rather than Lotis as the intended victim. According to some sources, Lotis was the daughter of

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

( Poseidon) or Nereus. Ovid suggests that Priapus later kills the donkey.

In art

The story does not seem to feature in

Ancient Greek vase-painting Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has ex ...

, and only occasionally in later art. Priapus and Lotis appear in the right foreground of '' The Feast of the Gods'' by

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...

(c. 1514), in an engraving by Giovanni Battista Palumba (c. 1510), and a drawing by Parmigianino of the 1530s. Bellini keeps Priapus's aroused state visible under his clothes, Palumba has it out in the open, as Parmigianino originally did, but this has been altered subsequently, as very explicit details often were in art. There are also some depictions of Lotis as a tree.Bayer, 196

Gallery

File:Wilton Album, folio 10a- Priapus and Lotis MET DP822195.jpg, alt=, ''Priapus and Lotis'' by Wilton Album File:Palumba lotis.jpg, alt=, The story of

and Lotis, engraving by Giovanni Battista Palumba, c. 1510 File:Tintoretto, tavole per un soffitto a palazzo pisani in san paterniano a venezia, 1541-42, priapo insidia lotide addormentata.jpg, alt=, ''''Priapo Insidia Lotide Addormentata'''' by Tintoretto

Notes

References

*Bayer, Andrea, ''Art and Love in Renaissance Italy'', 2008, Metropolitan Museum of Art, , 9781588393005
google books
*Bull, Malcolm, ''The Mirror of the Gods, How Renaissance Artists Rediscovered the Pagan Gods'', Oxford UP, 2005, *Hall, James, ''Hall's Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art'', 1996 (2nd edn.), John Murray, * Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Fasti'' translated by James G. Frazer
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Fasti.'' Sir James George Frazer. London; Cambridge, MA. William Heinemann Ltd.; Harvard University Press. 1933
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotis (Mythology) Nereids Nymphs Children of Poseidon Metamorphoses into trees in Greek mythology Women in Greek mythology Characters in Greek mythology