Itonus

In Greek mythology, Itonus (/ˈtnəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἴτωνος means 'willow—man'[1]), also Itonius, may refer to two individuals:

  • Itonus, king of Iton in Phthiotis and son of Amphictyon. He was married to Melanippe, a nymph, and had a son Boeotus[2] and two daughters, Chromia and Iodame.[3] He founded a sanctuary of Athena, where his daughter Iodame served as priestess. Itonis and Itonia, surnames of Athena, were believed to have been derived from his name. In some versions of Athena's parentage, king Itonus is the father of the goddess.[4] According to Graves, the myth of Itonus represents a claim by the Itonians that they worshipped Athene even before the Athenians did and his name shows that she had a willow cult in Phthiotis — like that of her counterpart, the goddess Anatha, at Jerusalem until Jehovah's priests ousted her and claimed the rain—making willow as his tree at the Feast of Tabernacles.[5]

Notes

  1. Graves, Robert (2017). The Greek Myths - The Complete and Definitive Edition. Penguin Books Limited. p. 47. ISBN 9780241983386.
  2. Scholia on Homer, Iliad B, 494, p. 80, 43 ed. Bekk. as cited in Hellanicus' Boeotica
  3. Pausanias, 9.1.1 & 5.1.4; Tzetzes on Lycophron, 1206
  4. Pausanias, 9.34.12; Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, 1.721; Etymologicum Magnum 479. 47, under Itonis
  5. Graves, Robert (2017). The Greek Myths - The Complete and Definitive Edition. Penguin Books Limited. p. 45. ISBN 9780241983386.
  6. Diodorus Siculus, 4.67.6

References


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