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 ...
, Phene (''
Liddell & Scott
Liddell is a surname. Notable people with this name, also Lidell, include:
* Alan Liddell (1930–1972), English cricketer, son of Allan Liddell
* Alice Liddell (1852–1934), Lewis Carroll's "muse"
* Allan Liddell (1908–1970), English cricke ...
'' s.v φήνη /ref>) is the name of a legendary queen of
Attica
Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...
, and the wife of
Periphas Periphas (; Ancient Greek: Περίφᾱς ''Períphās'' means 'conspicuousness') in Greek mythology may refer to:
* Periphas, a legendary king of Attica who Zeus turned into an eagle, husband of Phene.
*Periphas, an Egyptian prince as one of th ...
. They were a just and fair royal couple who were transformed into birds by
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 ...
.
Etymology
The ancient Greek noun means vulture, at least a kind of vulture. According to Celoria, the elements ''pha-'' and ''phe-'' in the names of Periphas and Phene can both be traced to the ancient Greek verb (''phaino''), meaning 'to appear'. According to Beekes it has no clear etymology, and its alternative spelling (''phínis''), points to a
pre-Greek
The pre-Greek substrate (or substratum) consists of the unknown pre-Greek language or languages (either Pre-Indo-European or other Indo-European languages) spoken in prehistoric Greece prior to the emergence of the Proto-Greek language in the r ...
origin, which according to him is the most likely possibility anyway.
Mythology
Phene was married to Periphas, a king of Attica. Periphas was a pious and just man, beloved by his subjects, who then began to worship him as a god. They erected temples to him and worshipped him using Zeus's cult titles such as ''
Soter
Soter derives from the Ancient Greek epithet (''Sōtḗr''), meaning a saviour, a deliverer. The feminine form is Soteira (Σώτειρα, ''Sṓteira'') or sometimes Soteria (Σωτηρία, ''Sōtería'').
Soter was used as:
* A title of gods ...
'' (the saviour) and ''Epopsios'' ("overlooker of all"). This angered Zeus, who planned on striking Periphas with one of his thunderbolts. But
Apollo
Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
intervened and convinced his father to spare Periphas because he (Apollo) had been greatly honoured by the king. So he then came to Phene and Periphas's house, and found them conversing together. He turned Periphas into an eagle immediately. Phene, not wanting to be separated from her husband, asked to be changed into a bird as well. Her wish was fulfilled and she was transformed into a ''phene'' (), a kind of
vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
(perhaps
lammergeier
The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey in the monotypic genus ''Gypaetus''. The bearded vulture is the only known vertebrate whose diet consists of 70–90% bone.
...
). By decree of Zeus, that vulture became a good omen for mankind.
Antoninus Liberalis
Antoninus Liberalis () was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between the second and third centuries AD. He is known as the author of ''The Metamorphoses'', a collection of tales that offers new variants of already familiar myths ...
, who recorded the tale, did not mention Phene's name, only the bird she transformed into, and simply referred to her as Periphas's wife. Her name comes from an earlier Roman writer,
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
, who only mentions her in passing along with Periphas. Ovid calls her 'most just Phene'.
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
, ''
Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...
Orpheus
In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...
*
Dido
Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC.
In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...
*
Laodamia of Phylace
{{Other uses, Laodamia
In Greek mythology, Laodamia (Ancient Greek: Λαοδάμεια ''Laodámeia'') was the daughter of Acastus, king of Iolcus, possibly by his wife Astydamia. Laodamia became the wife of Protesilaus.
Mythology
After Pr ...
References
Bibliography
*
Antoninus Liberalis
Antoninus Liberalis () was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between the second and third centuries AD. He is known as the author of ''The Metamorphoses'', a collection of tales that offers new variants of already familiar myths ...