Oreithyia, the third daughter of Erechtheus, was stolen away by the god
Boreas while amusing herself on the banks of the Ilissus, and carried
to his residence in Thrace. The two sons of this marriage, Zêtês
and Kalaïs, were born with wings: they took part in the Argonautic
expedition, and engaged in the pursuit of the Harpies: they were slain
at Tênos by Hêraklês. Kleopatra, the daughter of Boreas and Oreithyia,
was married to Phineus, and had two sons, Plexippus and Pandiôn; but
Phineus afterwards espoused a second wife, Idæa, the daughter of
Dardanus, who, detesting the two sons of the former bed, accused them
falsely of attempting her chastity, and persuaded Phineus in his wrath
to put out the eyes of both. For this cruel proceeding he was punished
by the Argonauts in the course of their voyage.[473]
[473] Apollodôr. iii. 15, 2; Plato, Phædr. c. 3; Sophok. Antig.
984; also the copious Scholion on Apollôn. Rhod. i. 212.
The tale of Phineus is told very differently in the Argonautic
expedition as given by Apollônius Rhodius, ii. 180. From
Sophoklês we learn that this was the Attic version.
The two winged sons of Boreas and their chase of the Harpies were
noticed in the Hesiodic Catalogue (see Schol. Apollôn. Rhod. ii.
296). But whether the Attic legend of Oreithyia was recognized in
the Hesiodic poems seems not certain.
Both Æschylus and Sophoklês composed dramas on the subject of
Oreithyia (Longin. de Sublimit. c. 3). “Orithyia Atheniensis,
filia Terrigenæ, et a Borea in Thraciam rapta.” (Servius ad Virg.
Æneid. xii. 83). Terrigenæ is the γηγενὴς Ἐρεχθεύς. Philochorus
(Fragm. 30) rationalized the story, and said that it alluded to
the effects of a violent wind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account