Alcyone (daughter of Sciron)

Did You Know?

• Sciron was the son of Polypemon.
• Alcyone's father ordered her to find a husband, and she slept with many men.
• The sea-goddess Thetis loved the kingfisher into which Alcyone was transformed.

Etymology

The name Alkyóne derives from alkyón, a term for a sea-bird with a mournful song or specifically a kingfisher. Its meaning is uncertain, as alkyón is considered pre-Greek and non-Indo-European in origin. Folk etymology linked it to háls (brine, sea, salt) and kyéo (I conceive). The smooth breathing mark on Alkyóne was sometimes replaced with a rough breathing, producing misspellings such as halkyón and Halkyóne, which gave rise to the English genus name Halcyon. Another speculation connects Alkyóne to alké (prowess, battle, guard) and onéo (to help, to please).

Attestation of the story

Pseudo-Probus attributes the version involving Sciron to Theodorus, from a lost Metamorphoses work, and notes that Ovid in his own Metamorphoses follows Nicander's version, which is also lost. Nicander, a second-century BC Greek poet and grammarian, wrote transformation myths that influenced later authors. Ovid's Metamorphoses tells of Alcyone and Ceyx as a beloved couple; after Ceyx died at sea, Alcyone threw herself off a cliff, and Juno (Greek Hera) transformed them both into kingfishers. This version is supported by Virgil, Apollodorus, and Hyginus. Pseudo-Probus, Ovid, and Hyginus all connect the metamorphosis to the origin of the term 'halcyon days', the seven storm-free winter days when the birds lay their eggs. Ovid knew both versions and subtly referenced the Sciron story in his lines. The original myth may have been simpler, closer to Nicander's, where a woman named Alcyone wept for an unnamed husband and became the bird; Ceyx was likely added later.