Editing Phlegyas

{{short description|Ancient Greek mythological king}}
{{about||the town of ancient Boeotia|Phlegyas (Boeotia)|the insect genus|Phlegyas (bug)}}

[[File:Milano - Vetrata ottocentesca del Museo Poldi Pezzoli - Caronte - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto - 14-sept-2003.jpg|thumb|''Phlegias with [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] and [[Virgil]]'', stained glass in [[Museo Poldi Pezzoli]] in [[Milan]]]]

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Phlegyas''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|l|ɛ|dʒ|i|ə|s}}; [[Ancient Greek]]: Φλεγύας means 'fiery') was a king of the [[Lapiths]] (or the [[Phlegyas (Boeotia)|Phlegyans]]).

==Family==
Phlegyas was the son of [[Ares]] and [[Chryse (mythology)|Chryse]], daughter of [[Almus of Orchomenus|Halmus]],<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], 9.36.1</ref> or of [[Dotis]].<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], 3.5.5</ref> In one account, he was mentioned as an [[Autochthon (ancient Greece)|autochthon]].<ref>[[Nonnus]], 29.31</ref> Phlegyas was the brother of [[Ixion]], another king of the Lapiths,<ref>[[Strabo]], 9. p. 442</ref> and [[Gyrton (mythology)|Gyrton]], eponym of a [[Ancient Thessaly|Thessalian]] [[Gyrton (Thessaly)|town]].<ref>[[Strabo]], 9. p.442. Page numbers refer to those of [[Isaac Casaubon|Isaac Casaubon's]] edition; [[Stephanus of Byzantium]], s.v. ''Γυρτών''</ref>

Phlegyas was the father of Ixion, in some accounts, as well as [[Coronis (lover of Apollo)|Coronis]], one of [[Apollo]]'s lovers. The girl's mother was called [[Cleopheme]], daughter of [[Malus (mythology)|Malus]] and the [[Muses|Muse]] [[Erato]].<ref name="Isyllus, Hymn to Asclepius">[[Isyllus]], ''Hymn to Asclepius'' [http://www.attalus.org/poetry/paeans.html#F 128.37 ff.]</ref> According to one tradition, he had no children.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], 3.5.5</ref> Another daughter, [[Gyrtone (mythology)|Gyrtone]], was also said to have given her name to Gyrton.

==Mythology==
Phlegyas succeeded [[Eteocles of Orchomenus|Eteocles]], who died without issue, in the government of the district of [[Orchomenus (Boeotia)|Orchomenos]], which he named Phlegyantis, after himself.

While pregnant with [[Asclepius]], Coronis fell in love with [[Ischys]], son of [[Elatus]]. When a [[hooded crow]] informed Apollo of the affair, he sent his sister [[Artemis]] to kill Coronis, unable to perform the task himself. However, [[Hermes]] rescued the baby from Coronis' womb and gave it to the [[centaur]] [[Chiron]] to raise. Phlegyas, angry at Apollo for killing his daughter, torched the Apollonian temple at [[Delphi]], causing Apollo to kill him with his arrows and condemn him to severe punishment in the lower world.<ref>''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to [[Apollo]], 15.3''</ref><ref>[[Pindar]], ''Pythian Odes'' 3.13</ref><ref>Apollodorus, 2.26.4 & 3.10.3</ref><ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], ''Commentary on [[Virgil|Virgil's]] [[Aeneid]]'' 6.618</ref><ref>[[Statius]], ''[[Thebaid (Latin poem)|Thebaid]]'' 1.713</ref> In another version of the myth, Phlegyas had no children and the two brothers Lycus and Nycteus are responsible for his death.

In the ''[[Aeneid]]'' of [[Virgil]], Phlegyas is shown tormented in [[Tartarus]] in the [[Greek underworld|Underworld]], warning others not to despise the gods. In the ''[[Thebaid (Latin poem)|Thebaid]]'' of [[Statius]], Phlegyas is also shown to be in the Underworld entombed in a rock by [[Megaera]] (one of the [[Erinyes|Furies]]) and starved in front of an eternal feast (comparable to the torment of [[Tantalus]]).

==Other appearances==
* In the ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' poem ''[[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'', Phlegyas ferries Virgil and [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] across the River [[Styx]] which is portrayed as a marsh where the wrathful and sullen lie within [[Hell]]'s Circle of Wrath.
* Phlegyas appears in the video game ''[[Dante's Inferno (video game)|Dante's Inferno]]''. This version is a giant fiery rock monster: whether he has always been is unknown. Dante unknowingly rides across the Styx on the wrathful demigod's crown. After fighting his way towards Dis and seeing Beatrice become Lucifer's bride, Dante takes control of Phlegyas and uses him to break into the City of Dis. When Dante reaches the circle of Heresy, Phlegyas breaks the ground he's standing on. Dante manages to jump off in time, but Phlegyas breaks through the floor and plummets into the abyss.
** In the animated film based on the video game called ''[[Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic]]'', the appearance of Phlegyas (whose vocal effects are provided by [[Kevin Michael Richardson]]) is more toned down as he appears in the film as a green-skinned humanoid who willingly took Dante and Virgil through the fifth circle of Hell without incident. He was knocked out by Lucifer when Dante controlled Phlegyas to charge Lucifer.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
* [[John Tzetzes]], ''Book of Histories,'' Book IX-X translated by Jonathan Alexander from the original Greek of T. Kiessling's edition of 1826.  [http://www.theoi.com/Text/TzetzesChiliades1.html Online version at theio.com]
* [[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. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0053 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[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. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.1.1 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].
* [[Pindar]], ''Odes'' translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162%3Abook%3DP. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Pindar, ''The Odes of Pindar'' including the Principal Fragments with an Introduction and an English Translation by Sir John Sandys, Litt.D., FBA. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1937. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0161%3Abook%3DP. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Pseudo-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. [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].
* [[Statius|Publius Papinius Statius]]'', The Thebaid'' translated by John Henry Mozley. Loeb Classical Library Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928. [https://topostext.org/work/149 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* Publius Papinius Statius, ''The Thebaid. Vol I-II''. John Henry Mozley. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1928. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0498 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* [[Strabo]], ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Strabo, ''Geographica'' edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0197 Greek 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==
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[[Category:Kings of the Lapiths]]
[[Category:Lapiths]]
[[Category:Autochthons of classical mythology]]
[[Category:Condemned souls in Tartarus]]
[[Category:Children of Ares]]
[[Category:Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid]]
[[Category:Minyans]]
[[Category:Mythological Thessalians]]
[[Category:Boeotian mythology]]
[[Category:Thessalian mythology]]
[[Category:Characters in the Divine Comedy]]
[[Category:Mythological city founders]]