In Greek mythology, Iasion /aɪˈeɪʒən/ (Ancient Greek: Ἰασίων, romanized: Iasíōn[1]) or Iasus /ˈaɪəsəs/ (Ancient Greek: Ἴασος, romanized: Íasos[2]), also called Eetion[3][4] /iːˈɛʃən/ (Ancient Greek: Ἠετίων, romanized: Ēetíōn), was the founder of the mystic rites on the island of Samothrace.
Iasion | |
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Founder of the Mystic rites | |
Other names | Iasus, Eetion |
Abode | (1) Samothrace or (2) Italy |
Personal information | |
Parents | (1) Zeus and Electra (2) Corythus and Electra (3) Ilithyius |
Siblings | (1) & (2) Dardanus, Harmonia and (1) Emathion (possibly) |
Consort | (i) Demeter (ii) Cybele |
Children | (i) Plutus and Philomelus (ii) Corybas |
According to the mythographer Apollodorus, Iasion is the son of the Pleiad Electra and Zeus, and the brother of Dardanus[5] and possibly Emathion.[6] Both Hellanicus and Diodorus Siculus repeat this parentage, adding Harmonia as his sister.[7] According to an Italian version of the genealogy, Iasion and Dardanus are both Electra's sons, and are both born in Italy, with Iasion fathered by Corythus and Dardanus by Zeus.[8] In Hyginus' Fabulae, Iasion is called the son of Ilithyius.[9]
With Demeter, Iasion was the father of Plutus, the god of wealth.[10] According to Hyginus' De Astronomica, Iasion was also the father of Philomelus,[11] while, according to Diodorus Siculus, he was the father of a son named Corybas with Cybele.[12]
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.[13][14] In one account, his death was caused by his impiety to the statue of Demeter instead.[15] Servius, in his commentary upon Virgil's Aeneid, states that Iasion was killed by his brother Dardanus,[16] whereas Hyginus attributes his death to horses.[17] Ovid, in contrast, says that Iasion lived to an old age as the husband of Demeter.[18]
Some versions of this myth conclude with Iasion and the agricultural hero Triptolemus then becoming the Gemini constellation.[19]