Editing Metanira

{{Short description|Character from Greek mythology}}
{{about|the mythical daughter of Amphictyon|the hetaira|Metaneira (hetaera)}}
[[Image:Eleusinian hydria Antikensammlung Berlin 1984.46 n2.jpg|thumb|right|280px|[[Demeter]] and Metanira, detail of an Apulian red-figure [[hydria]], [[Antikensammlung Berlin]] (1984.46)]]

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Metanira''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|m|ɛ|t|ə|ˈ|n|aɪ|r|ə}}; [[Ancient Greek]]: Μετάνειρα ''Metáneira'') or '''Meganira'''<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], 1.39.1</ref> was a queen of [[Eleusis]] as wife of King [[Celeus]]. She was the daughter of [[Amphictyon]], the king of [[Athens]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Graves|first=Robert|title=The Greek Myths|publisher=Penguin Books|year=1960|isbn=978-0143106715|location=Harmondsworth, London, England|pages=s.v. Demeter's Nature and Deeds}}</ref>

== Mythology ==
While [[Demeter]] was searching for her daughter, having taken the form of an old woman called [[Doso (mythology)|Doso]], she received a hospitable welcome from Celeus, the King of Eleusis in [[Attica, Greece|Attica]]. He asked her to nurse [[Demophon of Eleusis|Demophoon]], his son by Metanira.  As a gift to Celeus, because of his hospitality, Demeter planned to make Demophoon immortal by burning his mortal spirit away in the family hearth every night. She was unable to complete the ritual because Metanira walked in on her one night and screamed at seeing her child in flames, which distracted the goddess. Some theories suggested that Demophoon, as a result, was destroyed by the flames, but in other sources he suffered no harm.

In [[Ovid]]'s ''Fasti'',<ref>book 4, lines 508-560</ref> the baby was [[Triptolemus]] and not Demophoon, although in most other versions he was an adult by the time; some sources state that even his parentage was different. However, all versions agree that Demeter chose to teach Triptolemus the art of agriculture and, from him, the rest of Greece learned to plant and reap crops. He flew across the land on a winged chariot while Demeter and [[Persephone]] cared for him, and helped him complete his mission of educating the whole of Greece on the art of agriculture.<ref>''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to [[Demeter]]'' 5</ref><ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], 1.5.1-2</ref><ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#147 147]</ref> Some mythological traditions tell that Metanira's son [[Abas (mythology)|Abas]] mocked Demeter and as punishment was turned into a lizard;<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 5.450 ff</ref> others, however, relate this of [[Ascalabus]], son of [[Misme (mythology)|Misme]].<ref>[[Antoninus Liberalis]], [https://topostext.org/work/216#24 24]</ref>

==Notes==
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== References ==

* [[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992). [https://topostext.org/work/216 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. {{ISBN|0-674-99135-4}}. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website].
*[[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* [[Pausanias (geographer)|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. {{ISBN|0-674-99328-4}}. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.  [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0159 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Ovid|Publius Ovidius Naso]], ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0028 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0029 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica'' with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D2 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0137 Greek text available from the same website].

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100724052921/http://londonpoetryreview.com/2008/11/pentelic-fragment/ "Pentelic Fragment,"] a poem about Metaneira by [[Jared Carter (poet)|Jared Carter]].

[[Category:Queens in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Mythological Eleusinians]]
[[Category:Deeds of Demeter]]

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