Alebion

Ancient Greek mythological figure

In Greek mythology, Alebion (Ancient Greek: Ἀλεβίων) or Albion (Ἀλβίων) of Liguria, was a son of Poseidon[1] and brother of Dercynus[2] (also called Bergion[3] or Ligys[4]). In one source, Alebion was also known as Ialebion (Ἰαλεβίων).[5]

Mythology

Alebion attacked Heracles with Dercynus when he passed through their country, Liguria in North-Western Italy, on his way back to Mycenae from Iberia having obtained the Cattle of Geryon as his tenth labour.[6] The battle that followed was fierce; Albion and Dercynus (or Bergion) were supported by a numerous army. Hercules and his army were in a difficult position so he prayed to his father Zeus for help. With the aegis of Zeus, Heracles won the battle, and both brothers were killed.[7] It was this kneeling position of Heracles, when he prayed to his father Zeus, that gave the name Engonasin (Ἐγγόνασιν, derived from ἐν γόνασιν), meaning "on his knees" or "the Kneeler" to Hercules' constellation. The story is also alluded to in Hyginus,[8] Dionysius[9] and Strabo.[10]

See also

  • Albion (Blake) – Primeval man in the mythology of William Blake

Notes

  1. ^ Tzetzes, Chiliades 2.341 & ad Lycophron, 649
  2. ^ Apollodorus, 2.5.10; Tzetzes, Chiliades 2.341 & ad Lycophron, 649
  3. ^ Pomponius Mela, 2.5.39 (=2.78 ed. Romer called him Dercynus instead)
  4. ^ Tzetzes ad Lycophron, 649
  5. ^ Apollodorus, 2.5.10
  6. ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867). "Albion". In William Smith (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 94. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01.
  7. ^ Apollodorus, 2.5.10; Strabo, 4.1.7; Tzetzes, Chiliades 2.341–342; Pomponius Mela, 2.5.39 (=2.78 ed. Romer called him Dercynus instead)
  8. ^ Hyginus, De Astronomica 2.6.5
  9. ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae 1.41.3
  10. ^ Strabo, 4.1.7

References

  • Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
  • Dionysus of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities. English translation by Earnest Cary in the Loeb Classical Library, 7 volumes. Harvard University Press, 1937–1950. Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
  • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitatum Romanarum quae supersunt, Vol I-IV. . Karl Jacoby. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1885. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
  • 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.
  • Scholia to Lycophron's Alexandra, marginal notes by Isaak and Ioannis Tzetzes and others from the Greek edition of Eduard Scheer (Weidmann 1881). Online version at the Topos Text Project.. Greek text available on Archive.org
  • Strabo, The Geography of Strabo. Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
  • Strabo, Geographica edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
  • Tzetzes, John, Histories or Chiliades unedited translation by Ana Untila (Book I), Gary Berkowitz (II-IV), Konstantinos Ramiotis (V-VI), Vasiliki Dogani (VII-VIII), Jonathan Alexander (IX-X), Muhammad Syarif Fadhlurrahman (XI), and Nikolaos Giallousis (XII-XIII), with translation adjustments by Brady Kiesling affecting about 15 percent of the total . These translations are based on the 1826 Greek edition of Theophilus Kiesslingius. Online version at the Topos Text Project.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Alebion". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. on page 94


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