Iasion

In Greek mythology, Iasion /aɪˈeɪʒən/ (Ancient Greek: Ἰασίων,[1] Iasíōn) or Iasus /ˈaɪəsəs/ (Ἴασος,[2] Íasos), also called Eetion /iːˈɛʃən/ (Ἠετίων, Ēetíōn)[3], was usually the son of the nymph Electra and Zeus and brother of Dardanus, although other possible parentage included Zeus and Hemera or Corythus and Electra.

Iasion founded the mystic rites on the island of Samothrace. With Demeter, he was the father of twin sons named Ploutos and Philomelus, and another son named Corybas.

At the marriage of Cadmus and Harmonia, Iasion was lured by Demeter away from the other revelers. They had intercourse as Demeter lay on her back in a freshly plowed furrow. When they rejoined the celebration, Zeus guessed what had happened because of the mud on Demeter's backside, and out of envy killed Iasion with a thunderbolt.[3][4][5] However, some say Demeter pled so eloquently that Zeus granted his son immortality, ranking him among the lesser deities.

Some versions of this myth conclude with Iasion and the agricultural hero Triptolemus then becoming the Gemini constellation.

See also

References
  1. gen.: Ἰασίωνος
  2. gen.: Ἰάσου
  3. Oxyrhynchus Papyri, 1359 fr. 2 as cited in Hesiod, Ehoiai fr. 102
  4. Bibliotheca 3.138, Theogony 969ff, Odyssey 5.125ff.
  5. Shlain, Leonard (1998). The Alphabet Versus the Goddess. Viking Penguin. ISBN 0-14-019601-3.
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