Electryone

In Greek mythology, Electryone (Ancient Greek: Ἠλεκτρυώνην) or Alectrona (Doric form) was a daughter of Helios and Rhodos, and sister to the Heliadae.[1] She died a virgin and was worshipped as a heroine on the island of Rhodes.[2]

This article is about the daughter of Helios. For the mother of Heracles, see Alcmene.

She was possibly a goddess of the sunrise, or of man's waking sense. The Doric form of her name is akin to the Greek word for "rooster" (Alectrona, the feminine genitive of Αλεκτορ, Alektor, the ancient Greek word for "rooster"), while the Attic form Electryone is akin to the word for "amber" (Ἠλέκτρα, Elektra), as in the amber color of sunrise.

A marble tablet from the 3rd century BC found in Ialyssus contains an inscription about the regulations for visitors to the temple of Alectrona.[3]

Genealogy

Greek sea gods
														Gaia																																																														Uranus
																																								Oceanus								Tethys
																																								The Potamoi								The Oceanids
																		Pontus																																				Thalassa
Nereus								Thaumas								Phorcys												Ceto								Eurybia								The Telchines								Halia								Poseidon																Aphrodite[4]
Echidna								Gorgon								Graeae								Ladon								Hesperides								Thoosa[5]								Helios								Rhodos
										Stheno										Deino																												Heliadae								Electryone
										Euryale										Enyo
										Medusa[6]										Pemphredo

Notes

1. Scholia on Pindar, Olympian Odes 7.24
2. Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History 5.56.5
3. "Regulations for Visitors to the Temple of Alectrona at Ialysus"
4. There are two major conflicting stories for Aphrodite's origins: Hesiod (Theogony) claims that she was "born" from the foam of the sea after Cronus castrated Uranus, thus making her Uranus' daughter; but Homer (Iliad, book V) has Aphrodite as daughter of Zeus and Dione. According to Plato (Symposium 180e), the two were entirely separate entities: Aphrodite Ourania and Aphrodite Pandemos.
5. Homer, Odyssey, 1.70–73, names Thoosa as a daughter of Phorcys, without specifying a mother.
6. Most sources describe Medusa as the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, though the author Hyginus (Fabulae Preface) makes Medusa the daughter of Gorgon and Ceto.

References

• Graves, Robert; The Greek Myths, Penguin Books Ltd. (1960 edition). 42. c, 4.
• Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). "Electryo'ne"
• Numismatic Chronicle, Volume 18