Alcyone - sketch
Added 2021-01-19 17:29:33 +0000 UTCI've been wanting to draw something inspired by the myth of Alcyone for a long time. It has grief, the sea, and kingfishers!
Alcyone was the daughter of the wind-god Aiolos, and was happily married to Ceyx, the son of a titan. (When anyone in Greek mythology is happily married, you know disaster is about to follow.) Ceyx's ship was wrecked in a storm on his return from an oracle (Ovid's description of the storm is some of the most powerful Latin verse I've ever read); Morpheus, god of sleep, sent an image of the drowned Ceyx to his wife to tell her he had died. Alcyone hastened out to the beach, where she saw the remnants of her husband's ship washing upon the shore, the dead Ceyx clinging to a piece of wood. In her grief, she cast herself off the rocks to be with her husband; in her fall, she was turned into a kingfisher (the Greek word for a kingfisher is alkyon). When she kissed him with her beak, Ceyx, too, was turned into a kingfisher and became alive again. They remained together, and mated, and every winter, Aiolos calms the sea for a few days, so that Alcyone can brood in peace. (Again, one is left to wonder if it wouldn't have been easier for Aiolos to simply calm the winds on Ceyx's return, but then, when is Greek mythology ever easy?)
(Uh, and yes, the ancient Greeks appear to have believed that kingfishers mated and bred on the open sea, in the middle of winter.)
Comments
I've always loved this myths (and yes! Ovid <3). Your sketch announces a wonderful illustration!
Litsen
2021-01-20 10:57:10 +0000 UTCI didn’t know this one (that’s rare for greek myths) - beautiful story, and of course kingfishers appeal
Liv Klein
2021-01-19 19:16:57 +0000 UTCI like that, but it won't work - in my mind, Elwing is silver-haired and fair; Alcyone here was based loosely on British actress Indira Varma, so - no chance. ;)
Jenny Dolfen
2021-01-19 18:21:42 +0000 UTCGreek mythology is another rich quarry of myth - and trust you to come up with this gem of undying true love! I am curious to see how you develop this scene and what all those scribbles in the background are going to be. I love Alcyone's face! :)
Marieke J.E.H.T. van Baest
2021-01-19 18:18:41 +0000 UTCCue reference to Kristine's excellent paper “Sea Birds and Morning Stars: Ceyx, Alcyone, and the Many Metamorphoses of Eärendil and Elwing” in Jason Fisher's "Tolkien and the Study of His Sources" ... Really ... you need to make your Alcyone look strikingly close to your Elwing 😉
Troels Forchhammer
2021-01-19 17:58:27 +0000 UTC
