Alcyone

Alcyone, daughter of Aeolus and Aegiale, married Ceyx of Trachis, son of the Morning Star. They were deeply devoted to each other. In their happiness, they compared themselves to Hera and Zeus. This angered the Olympian Zeus and Hera.

Ceyx set out by sea to consult an oracle. Alcyone had wanted to remain with him, but he refused to take her on the dangerous voyage. He tried to calm her fears, although he loved her no less than she loved him. She stayed behind in Trachis against her will. Zeus and Hera sent a thunderstorm over the ship. The storm broke the mast and struck away the stern. A great wave then overwhelmed the vessel and dragged it beneath the sea. Many aboard died. Ceyx clung to a fragment of the wreck and called on his father, his father-in-law, and above all Alcyone, but his calls were unanswered.

Ceyx's ghost appeared to Alcyone. His body later came ashore, and she recognised him. She tore her face, hair, and clothes, then reached towards her dead husband. In despair, she leapt into the sea. The gods took pity on the grieving couple and transformed both Alcyone and Ceyx into halcyons. They became birds that flew in pairs, retaining the affection that had marked their marriage. One account says that Thetis kept the sea calm for these birds when they made their floating nests around the shortest day. From this came the expression "halcyon-days", for a period of calm and happiness.

Orion pursued Alcyone and her six sisters across the meadows of Boeotia. They were the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Their mother was pursued with them. The sisters fled from Orion as he followed them through the land, and the chase continued until the gods took pity on them.

The gods changed Alcyone and her sisters into doves. They then placed their images among the stars, where they became the constellation called the Pleiades. Alcyone became its brightest principal star. The group is seen in the constellation Taurus. Their rising was also associated with the approach of weather suitable for sailing, which may explain the name Pleiades through a root meaning “to sail”.

The usual account says that the gods, or Zeus, transferred the sisters and their mother to the heavens. Another account says that the gods changed the seven sisters into doves before setting them among the stars. This version is disputed because the Pleiades were said not to have been virgins. Three had lain with Zeus, two with Poseidon, one with Ares, and the seventh had married Sisyphus of Corinth. Since Sisyphus was mortal, that sister was said to have been left out of the constellation. A separate tradition says that one star later disappeared in grief after the destruction of the House of Dardanus. Orion’s pursuit was also understood as an image of the stars, since the Pleiades rise just before Orion appears above the horizon.