Ascalabus (
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
: Ἀσκάλαβος), in
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, was a son of
Misme.
Mythology
When
Demeter
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...
, on her wanderings in search of her daughter
Persephone
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...
who had been abducted by
Hades
Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...
, came to Misme in
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
, the goddess was received kindly, and being exhausted and thirsty, Misme gave her something to drink (a
kykeon
Kykeon (, ; from , "to stir, to mix") was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek drink of various descriptions. Some were made mainly of water, barley and naturally occurring substances. Others were made with wine and grated cheese. It is widely believe ...
). As the goddess emptied the vessel at one draught, Ascalabus laughed at her, and ordered a whole cask to be brought. Demeter, indignant at the boy's conduct, sprinkled the few remaining drops from her vessel upon him and thereby changed him into a
gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from .
Geckos ar ...
. The tale is preserved in
Antoninus Liberalis' ''Metamorphoses'', which cites
Nicander's lost ''Heteroeumena''. The tale is also told in Ovid's
Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...
, though Ascalabus and his mother go unnamed: "presumably... to avoid confusion with
Ascalaphus
The name Ascalaphus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀσκάλαφος ''Askalaphos'') is shared by two people in Greek mythology:
* Ascalaphus, son of Acheron and Orphne.
* Ascalaphus, son of Ares and Astyoche.Homer, ''Iliad'' 13.518
Notes
Refere ...
".
In
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
versions of the story, where Demeter is called
Ceres
Ceres most commonly refers to:
* Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid
* Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture
Ceres may also refer to:
Places
Brazil
* Ceres, Goiás, Brazil
* Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
, Ascalabus is often named
Stellio.
See also
*
Baubo
Baubo (Ancient Greek: Βαυβώ) is an old woman in Greek mythology which appears particularly in the myths of the early Orphic religion. Known as the goddess of mirth, she is depicted as bawdy and sexually liberated, and is said to have jested ...
*
Iambe
Iambe (Ancient Greek: Ἰάμβη means 'banter'), in Greek mythology, was a Thracian woman, daughter of Pan and Echo, granddaughter of Hermes, and a servant of Metaneira, the wife of Hippothoon. Others call her a slave of Celeus, king of Eleusis ...
*
Metaneira
In Greek mythology, Metanira (; Ancient Greek: Μετάνειρα ''Metáneira'') or Meganira was a queen of Eleusis as wife of King Celeus. She was the daughter of Amphictyon, king of Athens.
Mythology
While Demeter was searching for her da ...
Notes
References
*
Antoninus Liberalis
Antoninus Liberalis ( el, Ἀντωνῖνος Λιβεράλις) was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between AD 100 and 300.
His only surviving work is the ''Metamorphoses'' (Μεταμορφώσεων Συναγωγή, ''Me ...
, ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992)
Online version at the Topos Text Project.*Welcker, Das Kunst-Museum zu Bonn, p. 74, &c.
* Grant, Michael and Hazel, John, ''Who's Who In Classical Mythology''
Princes in Greek mythology
Metamorphoses into animals in Greek mythology
{{Greek-myth-stub
Eleusinian characters in Greek mythology
Deeds of Demeter
Characters in Greek mythology
Eleusinian Mysteries