Cycnus of Liguria

For other uses, see Cycnus.

In Greek mythology, Cycnus (Ancient Greek: Κύκνος "swan") Cygnus or Cidnus^[1] was a king of Liguria, a beloved and lover of Phaethon, who lamented his death and was subsequently turned into a swan and then a constellation.^[2]

Cycnus
Cycnus changed into a swan
Abode	Liguria
Genealogy
Parents	Sthenelus
Consort	Phaethon (lover)
Children	Cinyras, Cupavo

History

Cycnus was the founder of the first settlement of Brescia on the hill Cidneo in 1200 BCE.^[3][4][5] The hill was named after him.^[6]

Mythology

Family

Cycnus was the son of Sthenelus and the lover of Phaethon (Servius explicitly writes "amator", or lover). According to Ovid, he was a distant relative of Phaethon on his mother's side.^[7] Servius also mentions that Cycnus had a son named Cupavo.^[8] It is also possible that he had two sons, Cupavo and Cinyras.^[9]

Transformation

After Phaethon died, Cycnus sat by the river Eridanos mourning his death. The gods turned him into a swan to relieve him of his sorrow. Even then he retained memories of Phaethon's death, and would avoid the sun's heat because of that.^[10] Swans are known for mourning their mate for many days when they die, which suggests that Cygnus and Phaethon were lovers.^[11][12][13]

According to Virgil, Cycnus lamented Phaethon's death till he grew old, so his gray hair became gray feathers upon his transformation.^[14] Pausanias mentions Cycnus, king of the Ligyes (Ligurians), as a renowned musician who after his death was changed into a swan by Apollo.^[15] Servius also writes of Cycnus as a musician and a friend of Phaethon, and states that he was changed into a swan and later placed among the stars by Apollo (that is, as the constellation Cygnus). Both Pausanias and Servius state it was Apollo who had blessed Cycnus with talent in singing.^[8] Cycnus' profession as a musician may be a direct reference to the concept of the swan song suggested in Hyginus' account.^[16]

Notes

1. "History of Brescia: the origins and the Roman Brescia". turismobrescia.it. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
2. William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology Cycnus
3. Palomba, N. (2017). Frammenti di storia bresciana. Cavinato Editore.
4. Barchi, A. (1832). Annotazioni alla cronologia bresciana civile ed ecclesiastica dall'origine di Brescia fino ai nostri giorni. N. Bettoni and companions.
5. Bravo, P. (1839). Delle Storie Bresciane. Venturini.
6. "History of Brescia: the origins and the Roman Brescia". turismobrescia.it. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
7. Ovid. Metamorphoses. 2.367-380.
8. Servius on Aeneid 10.189
9. "John Conington, Commentary on Vergil's Aeneid, Volume 2, P. VERGILI MARONIS, line 185". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
10. Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.367-380
11. Wedderburn, Pete (3 September 2015). "Animals grieve just as people do". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
12. "Lonely Irish swan 'hugs' cars after its mate was killed". IrishCentral.com. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
13. "The care and treatment of swans and waterfowl with an established worldwide reputation". The Swan Sanctuary. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
14. Virgil, Aeneid 10.189
15. Pausanias, 1.30.3
16. Hyginus, Fabulae 154

References

Ancient

• Pausanias, Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Vergil, Aeneid. Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Ovid, Metamorphoses, Volume I: Books 1-8. Translated by Frank Justus Miller. Revised by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library No. 42. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1977, first published 1916. ISBN 978-0-674-99046-3. Online version at Harvard University Press.
• Hyginus, Gaius Julius, The Myths of Hyginus. Edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960.
• Maurus Servius Honoratus, In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii; recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

Modern

• Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

External links

• CYCNUS from The Theoi Project