Asteria titaness

Asteria

Asteria (in greco antico: Ἀστερία) è un personaggio della mitologia greca, figlia della titanide Febe e del titano Ceo.

Genealogia

Sorella di Latona, sposò il titano Perse che le diede la figlia Ecate.

Mitologia

Per sfuggire alle avances di Zeus, che si era trasformato in un'aquila per raggiungerla mentre tesseva Asteria si trasformò in una quaglia e si gettò nel mar Egeo dove si trasformò in un'isola che prese il nome di Ortigia, ovvero "isola delle quaglie".

Su quest'isola Leto (sorella di Asteria) trovò asilo e vi partorì Artemide ed il dio del Sole Apollo, facendo sì che l'isola si circonfondesse di luce e che per questo motivo fu chiamata Delo ("la chiara, la luminosa").
Il nome di Delo risulta inoltre in coerente simmetria con la parola "asteria" che significa "stella".

Nonno di Panopoli aggiunge un finale leggermente diverso scrivendo che dopo che Asteria si gettò in mare, fu Poseidone che continuando a cercarla fece sì che Asteria si trasformasse nell'isola di Delo (in greco Delos dal verbo deloo che significa “mostrare"), facendosi aiutare da Apollo che la radicò immobile tra le onde.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Catalogue No. Boston 03.821; Attic Red Figure, Amphora

Attributed to the Kadmos Painter

In Greek mythology, Asteria or Asterie (/əˈstɪəriə/; Ancient Greek: Ἀστερία, lit. 'of the stars, starry one') was a daughter of the Titans Coeus (Polus) and Phoebe and the sister of Leto. According to Hesiod, by the Titan Perses she had a daughter Hecate, goddess of witchcraft. Other authors made Asteria the mother of the fourth Heracles and Hecate by Zeus.

Mythology

Asteria was an inhabitant of Olympus, and like her sister Leto was beloved by Zeus. In order to escape the amorous advances of the god, who in the form of an eagle pursued her, she transformed herself into a quail (ortux) and flung herself into the Aegean Sea. It was there that Asteria metamorphosed into the island Asteria (the island which had fallen from heaven like a star) or the "quail island" Ortygia. This then became identified with the island of Delos, which was the only piece on earth to give refuge to the fugitive Leto when, pregnant with Zeus's children, she was pursued by vengeful Hera. According to Hyginus, Leto was borne by the north wind Boreas at the command of Zeus to the floating island, at the time when Python was pursuing her, and there clinging to an olive, she gave birth to Apollo and Artemis. On the island of Delos Asteria married Perses and gave birth to their child Hecate.

A different version was added by the poet Nonnus who recounted that, after Asteria was pursued by Zeus but turned herself into a quail and leaped into the sea, Poseidon instead took up the chase. In the madness of his passion, he hunted the chaste goddess to and fro in the sea, riding restless before the changing wind and thus she transformed herself into the desert island of Delos with the help of her nephew Apollo who rooted her in the waves immovable.

In the rare account where Asteria was the mother of Heracles by Zeus, the Phoenicians sacrifice quails to the hero because when he went into Libya and was killed by Typhon, Iolaus brought a quail to him, and having put it close to him, he smelt it and came to life again.