Mythology
In Greek mythology, Hermes was born in a sacred cave on the mountain, and so Cyllenius is a frequent epithet of his. The Homeric Hymn Hymn to Pan recalled that "Hermes ... came to Arkadia ... there where his sacred place is as god of Kyllene. For there, though a god, he used to tend curly-fleeced sheep." In ancient times there was a temple and statue dedicated to him on the mountain's summit.
Hyginus records that it was on Cyllene that the seer Tiresias changed sex when he struck two copulating snakes.
Cyllene (or Kyllene) herself was a mountain nymph (an oread) who had taken for her consort Pelasges in the most ancient times that Greek mythographers could recall. There was a port in Elis in Antiquity named "Cyllene" near the mouth of the Alfeios River, where the traveler Pausanias noted the image of Hermes, "most devoutly worshiped by the inhabitants, is merely the male member upright on the pedestal." Several modern places are also named Kyllini.
The Pleiades were born on Mount Kyllini.
Read more about this topic: Mount Kyllini
Famous quotes containing the word mythology:
“One may as well preach a respectable mythology as anything else.”
—Humphrey, Mrs. Ward (1851–1920)
“This is the frost coming out of the ground; this is Spring. It precedes the green and flowery spring, as mythology precedes regular poetry. I know of nothing more purgative of winter fumes and indigestions. It convinces me that Earth is still in her swaddling-clothes, and stretches forth baby fingers on every side.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In the United States there’s a Puritan ethic and a mythology of success. He who is successful is good. In Latin countries, in Catholic countries, a successful person is a sinner.”
—Umberto Eco (b. 1932)