Ctesylla
A Cean maiden who became a dove after death.
Ctesylla was a maiden of Ioulis in Ceos, daughter of Alcidamas. Her story is notable for her metamorphosis into a dove and the founding of a cult.
Quick Facts
- Name
- Ctesylla (Κτήσυλλα)
- Origin
- Ioulis in Ceos
- Father
- Alcidamas
- Spouse
- Hermochares
- Associated deities
- Artemis
- Aphrodite
- Apollo
Facts from the source article.
Mythology
He threw an apple inscribed with an oath by Artemis' name; Ctesylla read it aloud, binding herself to marry him. Hermochares then approached her father Alcidamas, who swore by Apollo to consent. After the festival, Alcidamas broke his oath and planned to wed Ctesylla to another man. Hermochares went to Artemis' temple, where Ctesylla was sacrificing; by the goddess' will, she instantly loved him and fled with him to Athens, where they married. As punishment for Alcidamas' broken oath, Ctesylla died in childbirth. At her funeral, a dove flew from her death-bed, and her body vanished. Hermochares consulted an oracle, which instructed him to found a sanctuary for Ctesylla. The people of Ceos thereafter offered sacrifices to Aphrodite Ctesylla at Ioulis, while elsewhere on Ceos, Ctesylla became a surname of Artemis.
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