Ceyx in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Ceyx

9 passages from 4 ancient authors that tell of Ceyx, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Ceyx is the name given to two different figures in Greek mythology. The first Ceyx was the son of Eosphorus or Phosphorus, the morning star, who late... For the story in one place, read our article on Ceyx.

Hesiod (3)

Hesiod, Fragments 2.1–3.16Marriage of Ceyx and the Great EoiaeThe Marriage of Ceyx has Heracles landing from the Argo to look for water and a feast with Ceyx. The Great Eoiae gives genealogies and local legends, among them Epidaurus, Hyettus and Mycene, and Melampus and the serpents.
Hesiod, Shield of Heracles 400–480Heracles kills Cycnus and wounds Ares (400-480)Heracles drives his spear into Cycnus's neck between helmet and shield, and he falls like a lightning-struck oak. Ares attacks next, and although Athena tells him to stop, he is wounded in the thigh and cast down, and Panic and Dread carry him to Olympus. Heracles and Iolaus strip Cycnus's armour and go to Trachis, where Ceyx buries him, but Anaurus, swollen by rain at Apollo's command, washes the grave away.
Hesiod, Shield of Heracles 325–399Athena's counsel; Heracles meets Cycnus (325-399)Athena tells Heracles and Iolaus that Zeus gives them power to kill Cycnus and strip his armour, but that they must only wound Ares and then draw back. When the chariots meet, Heracles tells Cycnus to turn aside because he is bound for King Ceyx at Trachis, and recalls how he once wounded Ares at Pylos. Cycnus refuses, both men leap to the ground, and Zeus thunders and rains drops of blood as the fight begins.

Apollodorus (1)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 2.7.1–8Heracles' wars, Deianira and the death of HeraclesHera's storms drive Heracles to Cos on his way back from Troy, and he then fights beside the gods against the Giants. He campaigns against Augeas and the Molionides in Elis, against Pylos and against Hippocoon in Sparta, and fathers Telephus by Auge. He wins Deianira from Achelous and kills the centaur Nessus at the Evenus; after taking Oechalia, he puts on the robe stained with Nessus's blood and burns on Mount Oeta, rising to heaven and marrying Hebe. The section ends with a long list of his children, among them his sons by the daughters of Thespius.

Diodorus Siculus (1)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.57.1–4.58.8The HeracleidaeEurystheus, fearing the sons of Heracles, has them driven from Trachis; the Athenians alone take them in, and with Iolaüs, Theseus and Hyllus they defeat Eurystheus, who is killed by Hyllus. The Heracleidae then attack the Peloponnese, but Hyllus is killed in single combat by Echemus and they retreat for fifty years; Tlepolemus, driven from Argos for a killing, founds three cities on Rhodes.

Ovid (4)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.688–748Iris and Sleep; Ceyx and Alcyone become birdsAlcyone prays for Ceyx, and Hera (Juno) sends Iris to the house of Sleep in a dark cave to ask him to send a dream to Alcyone. Sleep wakes his son Morpheus, who takes the form of Ceyx and tells Alcyone that her husband is dead. Alcyone goes to the shore, sees his body, and throws herself toward it, and the gods change both into birds, and Aeolus calms the winds for seven days each year so that she may brood.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.266–409Peleus, Ceyx and the wolfPeleus, exiled for killing his half-brother Phocus, comes to the court of Ceyx at Trachis, where he is received kindly. Ceyx tells him of his brother Daedalion, who was turned into a hawk after the death of his daughter Chione. A herdsman brings word that a huge wolf is ravaging Peleus' cattle, and the sea-goddess Psamathe, who sent it, at last turns it to marble at the pleading of Thetis. Peleus goes on to Magnesia, where King Acastus purifies him.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.410–572Ceyx and Alcyone: the voyageCeyx, troubled by his brother's fate and by prodigies, decides to consult the oracle at Claros, and his wife Alcyone begs him not to go by sea. He reassures her and sails, and she watches the ship until it is out of sight. A storm rises at sea, and the sailors, and even the captain, are terrified.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.573–687The storm and the death of CeyxThe captain loses control as the storm grows, and huge waves break over the ship. The ship breaks up, and Ceyx, clinging to a piece of wreckage, calls on his wife and on his father-in-law until the waves overwhelm him. In Trachis Alcyone, not knowing that her husband is dead, counts the days and offers prayers at the shrine of Hera (Juno).