Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Krotos or Crotus (

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 p ...

: Κρότος) was the son of Pan and Eupheme. He dwelt on

Mount Helicon Mount Helicon ( grc, Ἑλικών; ell, Ελικώνας) is a mountain in the region of Thespiai in Boeotia, Greece, celebrated in Greek mythology. With an altitude of , it is located approximately from the north coast of the Gulf of Corint ...

and kept company of the Muses, whom his mother had nursed.

Mythology

Krotos was renowned for being both an excellent hunter and a devoted adherent of the Muses and their arts. He is credited with having invented archery and being the first to use illumination for hunting animals. He is also said to have introduced

applause Applause (Latin ''applaudere,'' to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences usually applaud after a performanc ...

, as he would clap his hands at the singing of the Muses, for whom this was a sign of acclaim preferable to any verbal ones. To commemorate his diligence, the Muses asked

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

to place him among the stars, which he did, transforming Krotos into the constellation Sagittarius. Various details of his stellar image were thought to represent one of his virtues: lower body of a horse for his skills of a horse rider; arrows for his keenness and swiftness as a hunter; a

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, σειληνός ), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exa ...

's tail for him being as delightful to the Muses as the satyrs are to

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

.Both Hyginus and pseudo-Eratosthenes cite

Sositheus Sositheus (Ancient Greek: Σωσίθεος, c. 280 BC), a Greek tragic poet from Alexandria Troas, was a member of the Alexandrian "pleiad". He must have resided at some time in Athens, since Diogenes Laërtius tells us that he attacked the Stoi ...

, a tragedian of the 3rd century BCE

Notes

Characters in Greek mythology

References

* Gaius Julius Hyginus, ''Astronomica from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Gaius Julius Hyginus, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
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