Listed 25 sub titles with search on: Mythology for destination: "CHIOS Island NORTH AEGEAN".
Ion the tragic poet says in his history that Poseidon came to the island when it was uninhabited; that there he had intercourse with a nymph, and that when she was in her pains there was a fall of snow (chion), and that accordingly Poseidon called his son Chios. Ion also says that Poseidon had intercourse with another nymph, by whom he had Agelus and Melas; that in course of time Oenopion too sailed with a fleet from Crete to Chios, accompanied by his sons Talus, Euanthes, Melas, Salagus and Athamas. Carians too came to the island, in the reign of Oenopion, and Abantes from Euboea. (Paus. 7.4.8)
This extract is from: Pausanias. Description of Greece (ed. W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., & H.A. Ormerod, 1918). Cited Dec 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
Son of Dionysus by Ariadne. Migrates from Crete to Chios, king of Chios, father of Merope, blinds Orion, and is hidden from Orion by Poseidon in an underground house, his grave in Chios.
Oinopion=the human charged with the introduction of wine into Greece
Some say that Ariadne actually had sons by Theseus, Oenopion and Staphylus,
and among these is Ion of Chios, who says of his own native city: "This, once,
Theseus's son founded, Oenopion."
Ion also says that Poseidon had intercourse with another nymph, by whom he had Agelus and Melas; that in course of time Oenopion too sailed with a fleet from Crete to Chios, accompanied by his sons Talus, Euanthes, Melas, Salagus and Athamas.
Carians too came to the island, in the reign of Oenopion, and Abantes from Euboea.
(Perseus Project - Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.4.8-9)
Aethiops (Aithiops), the Glowing or the Black. 1. A surname of Zeus, under which he was worshipped in the island of Chios. (Lycophron, Cass. 537, with the note of Tzetzes.)
Three generations from Amphiclus, Hector, who also had made himself king, made war on those Abantes and Carians who lived in the island, slew some in battle, and forced others to surrender and depart. When the Chians were rid of war, it occurred to Hector that they ought to unite with the Ionians in sacrificing at Panionium. It is said that the Ionian confederacy gave him a tripod as a prize for valor.(Pausan. 7.4.9)
Oenopion and his sons were succeeded by Amphiclus, who because of an oracle from Delphi came from Histiaea in Euboea. Three generations from Amphiclus, Hector, who also had made himself king, made war on those Abantes and Carians who lived in the island, slew some in battle, and forced others to surrender and depart. (Paus. 7.4.9)
Pherecydes says concerning this seaboard that Miletus and Myus and the parts round Mycale and Ephesus were in earlier times occupied by Carians, and that the coast next thereafter, as far as Phocaea and Chios and Samos, which were ruled by Ancaeus, was occupied by Leleges, but that both were driven out by the Ionians and took refuge in the remaining parts of Caria.(Strabo 14.1.3)
(Ankaios), Ancaeus. Son of Poseidon and Astypalaea, also one of the Argonauts, and the helmsman of the ship Argo after the death of Tiphys.
Ion also says that Poseidon had intercourse with another nymph, by whom he had Agelus and Melas; that in course of time Oenopion too sailed with a fleet from Crete to Chios (Paus. 7.4.8)
Mother of Chios by Apollo
Therein he wrought the earth, therein the heavens therein the sea, and the unwearied sun, and the moon at the full, and therein all the constellations wherewith heaven is crowned--the Pleiades, and the Hyades and the mighty Orion, and the Bear, that men call also the Wain, that circleth ever in her place, and watcheth Orion, and alone hath no part in the baths of Ocean.(Hom. Il. 18.482)
Gladly then did goodly Odysseus spread his sail to the breeze; and he sat and guided his raft skilfully with the steering-oar, nor did sleep fall upon his eyelids, as he watched the Pleiads, and late-setting Bootes, and the Bear, which men also call the Wain, which ever circles where it is and watches Orion, and alone has no part in the baths of Ocean. For this star Calypso, the beautiful goddess, had bidden him to keep on the left hand as he sailed over the sea.(Hom.Od. 5.269)
Orion was the son of Poseidon (the sea god) and Euryale (one of the
Gorgons' sisters). Born in the Greek province of Boeotia (Voiotia), he was a great
hunter, handsome and strong. One spring day, he traveled to the island of Chios
(Khios, located 5 miles off the western coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea). King
Oenopion ruled the land. He had a beautiful daughter named Merope (not to be confused
with Merope of the Pleiades). Orion fell madly in love with her and asked her
father for permission to marry her.
The king didn't like the idea of letting her go, so he gave Orion
the seemingly impossible task of ridding the island of its dangerous wild beasts,
hoping he would fail. He told Orion he would permit the marriage when he finished
the task. Orion worked very hard for several months from dawn to well after sunset,
until the job was done. He went to claim Merope, but King Oenopion hesitated to
give his daughter away, and told Orion that he hadn't finished his job completely.
By now Orion had figured out the real situation. He got very drunk one night and
in a fit of rage, took Merope by force. The next morning, Merope told her father
that Orion had raped her. The king was angered by the disturbing news, but somewhat
glad of having good reason to get rid of him. The next night, Oenopion got Orion
drunk again, blinded him and cast him out on the seashore.
An oracle told Orion that he would see again if he went east and let
the rays of the rising sun fall on his eyes. The blinded hunter traveled as far
as Lemnos (Limnos, located midway between Mt. Athos and the Turkish coast in the
Aegean Sea), and there he recovered his eyesight.
Eos, the goddess of the dawn had watched over Orion since he had left
Chios and fell in love with him. Orion spent some wonderful times with Eos, before
deciding to return to Chios to gain revenge on Oenopion. When the king discovered
Orion returned, he immediately hid in a secret cave. Orion searched for the king,
but could find him. Bent on revenge, Orion journeyed to the island of Crete searching
for King Oenopion, but he was nowhere to be found.
There he met the beautiful Artemis, goddess of the Moon and as keen
a hunter as Orion. She thought she had finally found someone special to fall in
love with, and the feelings were mutual. Orion was so much in love that he abandoned
his ideas of revenge.
Her twin brother, Apollo, (god of light, music, poetry, healing, prophecy,
and manly beauty) soon discovered their love affair. His sister was so involved
with Orion that she forgot to carry the Moon across the sky. After a month without
the Moon, Apollo complained to his sister, but she paid no attention to him. Apollo
was disgusted with his sister and thought the only way to solve this problem was
to kill Orion.
One day Apollo sent Orion to the sea to catch some fish. When Orion
waded through the sea, his head just above water, Apollo called his sister and
pointed out the unrecognizable black dot far away. He tauntingly told her that
although she was good with her bow, even she had her limits, and it was highly
unlikely that she could hit the tiny target. Artemis felt insulted, immediately
fit an arrow to her bow, and shot the target. Her aim was perfect, as always.
The arrow pierced Orion's head, killing him instantly.
The waves rolled Orion's dead body to the shore. Artemis was horrified
to discover her mistake. She wept and wept in deep sorrow. She took Orion's body
to her nephew Esculapius (god of medicine and healing), begging him to revive
Orion. Before Esculapius could act, a thunderbolt from Zeus destroyed Orion's
body. Artemis finally accepted his death, and set her lover among the stars.
There is another story about Orion's death. Orion boasted he was the
greatest hunter in the universe. When Zeus' wife, Hera, heard his claims, she
grew furious, and sent a poisonous scorpion to kill him. The creature snuck in
and stung him to death. Zeus took a pity on Orion, and placed him in the heavens,
where he appears as a giant, with girdle, sword, lion's skin, and club. Hera placed
the scorpion in the heavens at the opposite end of the sky. Even now, Orion tries
to avoid the scorpion until it has set. Scorpius, on the other hand, rises in
the east when a few of Orion's stars still linger above the western horizon.
The ancient Egyptians saw much of Orion as embodying the god Osiris.
This text is cited Dec 2003 from The Hawaiian Astronomical Society URL below
Chius is also a name for the constellation Scorpio, since, acc. to the fable, Orion was put to death at Chios by Diana by means of a scorpion.
Jupiter, they say, raised the Scorpion to the heavens, giving him this place among the constellations; and that afterwards Diana requested of him to do the same honour to Orion, which he at last consented to, but placed him in such a situation, that when the Scorpion rises, he sets.
In Greek mythology, the story of Scorpius involves Orion, the hunter.
Orion boasted that he was the greatest hunter in the universe. When Zeus' wife,
Hera, heard what he was saying, she became infuriated and sent a poisonous scorpion
to kill him. Orion fought with this creature for days and nights without any success.
When weary Orion was not looking, the creature sneaked in and stung him to death.
Zeus took pity on Orion and placed him in the heavens where he appears as a giant,
with a girdle, sword, lion's skin, and club. Hera placed the scorpion in the heavens
at the opposite end of the sky, so even now, Orion tries to avoid the creature
by hiding until it is completely under the horizon. On the other hand Scorpius
rises in the east when a few stars of Orion still linger above the western horizon.
This extract is cited Dec 2003 from The Hawaiian Astronomical Society URL
below
The dog of Orion. Τhe Dog star; a very bright star of the first magnitude, in the mouth of the constellation Canis Major, or the Great Dog.
Orion's dogs have no stories told specifically about them. The true
interest lies in the star Sirius, the dog's nose, and the brightest star in the
sky. Called the Dog Star, it heralded the "dog days of August" because roughly
1000 years ago it rose shortly before the sun at the start of August. People believed
the combined light of Sirius and the sun caused hot weather. Today, one would
have to wait until late August or early September for the Sun and Sirius to line
up like that.
That shift in dates is caused by a phenomenon called precession, a
26,000 year circular wobble of the Earth as it rotates. Go further back in time
(about 3000 B.C.E.) and Sirius rises just before the sun in early Summer.
The ancient Egyptians used the predawn rising of Sirius (called the
heliacal rising) to predict the flooding of the Nile.
This extract is cited Dec 2003 from The Hawaiian Astronomical Society URL
below
Daughter of Hyperion and Thia, loves Orion.
I know that a hymn to Opportunity is one of the poems of Ion of Chios; in the hymn Opportunity is made out to be the youngest child of Zeus. (Paus. 14.9.1)
Drimacus, (Drimakos), a fabulous leader of revolted slaves in Chios. The Chians are said to have been the first who purchased slaves, for which they were punished by the gods, for many of the slaves thus obtained escaped to the mountains of the island, and from thence made destructive inroads into the possessions of their former masters. After a long and useless warfare, the Chians concluded a treaty with Drimacus, the brave and successful leader of the slaves, who put an end to the ravages. Drimacus now received among his band only those slaves who had run away through the bad treatment they had experienced. But afterwards the Chians offered a prize for his head. The noble slave-leader, on hearing this, said to one of his men, " I am old and weary of life; but you, whom I love above all men, are young, and may yet be happy. Therefore take my head, carry it into the town and receive the prize for it." This was done accordingly; but, after the death of Drimacus, the disturbances among the slaves became worse than ever; and the Chians then, seeing of what service he had been to them, built him a heroum, which they called the heroum of the heros eumenes. The slaves sacrificed to him a portion of their booty ; and whenever the slaves meditated any outrage, Drimacus appeared to their masters in a dream to caution them. (Athen. vi.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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