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 ...

, Elaea ( grc, Ἐλαία, Elaia, olive) is an Attic girl who won the favour of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

thanks to her impressive athletic achievements and her beauty, and the envy of the other Atticans for the same reason. Her story shares many elements with that of

Myrsine ''Myrsine'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was formerly placed in the family Myrsinaceae before this was merged into the Primulaceae. It is found nearly worldwide, primarily in tropical and subtropical areas. It con ...

. Her brief tale survives in the works of Nicolaus Sophista, a Greek sophist and rhetor who lived during the fifth century AD.

Mythology

Elaea was an extremely athletic girl who outdid all girls in beauty and all boys in strength, winning herself the favour and love of

, the virgin goddess of wisdom and patron-goddess of

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 ...

. Elaea beat all her opponents in both the

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

and the race, who grew resentful of her. Many of her fellow athletes whom she had beaten then decided to murder her out of envy. But Athena took pity in her favourite, and for Athena's sake

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenog ...

, the goddess of the

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, metamorphosed the dead girl into a

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

tree, which was the most sacred tree associated with

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and

. A similar, almost word-for-word, story was also told about another maiden,

, who was changed into a myrtle shrub.

References

Bibliography

* * Attican characters in Greek mythology Metamorphoses into trees in Greek mythology Deeds of Athena Women in Greek mythology Deeds of Gaia {{Greek-myth-stub

Mythology

See also

References

Bibliography