In
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 ...
, Phene ( grc, Φήνη, Phḗnē, vulture
['']Liddell & Scott
Liddell is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Alice Liddell (1852–1934), Lewis Carroll's "muse"
* Allan Liddell (1908–1970)
* Alvar Lidell (1908–1981), BBC radio announcer and newsreader
* Andreas Lidel (1740s–1780s), c ...
'' s.v
φήνη
/ref>) is the name of a legendary queen 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 S ...
, and the wife of Periphas. They were a just and fair royal couple who were transformed into birds by 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 ...
.
Etymology
The ancient Greek noun means vulture, at least a kind of vulture.pre-Greek
The Pre-Greek substrate (or Pre-Greek substratum) consists of the unknown pre-Indo-European language(s) spoken in prehistoric Greece before the coming of the Proto-Greek language in the Greek peninsula during the Bronze Age. It is possible that ...
origin, which according to him is the most likely possibility anyway.
Mythology
Phene was married to Periphas, a king of Attica. Periphas was a pious and just man, beloved by his subjects, who then began to worship him as a god. They erected temples to him and worshipped him using Zeus's cult titles such as ''Soter Soter derives from the Greek epithet (''sōtēr''), meaning a saviour, a deliverer; initial capitalised ; fully capitalised ; feminine Soteira (Σώτειρα) or sometimes Soteria (Σωτηρία).
Soter was used as:
* a title of gods: Poseidon ...
'' (the saviour) and ''Epopsios'' ("overlooker of all"). This angered Zeus, who planned on striking Periphas with one of his thunderbolts. But Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
intervened and convinced his father to spare Periphas because he (Apollo) had been greatly honoured by the king. So he then came to Phene and Periphas's house, and found them conversing together. He turned Periphas into an eagle immediately. Phene, not wanting to be separated from her husband, asked to be changed into a bird as well. Her wish was fulfilled and she was transformed into a ''phene'' (), a kind of vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
(perhaps lammergeier
The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey and the only member of the genus ''Gypaetus''. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a separate m ...
). By decree of Zeus, that vulture became a good omen for mankind.
Antoninus Liberalis, who recorded the tale, did not mention Phene's name, only the bird she transformed into, and simply referred to her as Periphas's wife. Her name comes from an earlier Roman writer, Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
, who only mentions her in passing along with Periphas. Ovid calls her 'most just Phene'.Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
, ''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 ...
'
7.398-401
/ref>
See also
* Orpheus
Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with J ...
* Dido
Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC.
In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...
* Laodamia of Phylace
{{Other uses, Laodamia
In Greek mythology, Laodamia (Ancient Greek: Λαοδάμεια ''Laodámeia'') was the daughter of Acastus, King of Iolcus, and his wife Astydameia. Laodamia became the wife of Protesilaus.
Mythology
After Protesilaus ...
References
Bibliography
* Antoninus Liberalis, ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992)
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
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Online version at Perseus.tufts project.
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{{Authority control
Queens in Greek mythology
Attican characters in Greek mythology
Deeds of Zeus
Deeds of Apollo
Metamorphoses characters
Metamorphoses into birds in Greek mythology