Ixion

This article is about the Greek myth. For the trans-Neptunian object, see 28978 Ixion

In Greek mythology, Ixion was king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly, and a son of Ares or Antion or the notorious evildoer Phlegyas, whose name connotes "fiery". Peirithoös was his son (or stepson, if Zeus were his father, as the sky-god claims to Hera in Iliad 14). Ixion married Dia, a daughter of Deioneus (or Eioneus) and promised his father-in-law a valuable present. However, he did not pay the bride price, so Deioneus stole some of Ixion's horses in retaliation. Ixion concealed his resentment and invited his father-in-law to a feast at Larissa. When Deioneus arrived, Ixion pushed him into a bed of burning coals and wood. Ixion went mad, defiled by his act; the neighboring princes were so offended by this act of treachery and violation of xenia that they refused to perform the rituals that would cleanse Ixion of his guilt (see catharsis). Thereafter, Ixion lived as an outlaw and shunned. By killing his father-in-law, Ixion was reckoned the first man guilty of kin-slaying in Greek mythology. That alone would warrant him a terrible punishment.

However, Zeus had pity on Ixion and brought him to Olympus and introduced him at the table of the gods. Instead of being grateful, Ixion grew lustful for Hera, Zeus's consort, a further violation of guest-host relations. Zeus found out about his intentions and made a cloud in the shape of Hera, which became known as Nephele, and tricked Ixion into coupling with it. From the union of Ixion and the false-Hera cloud came Chiron, wisest of centaurs, or in another version, Centauros, who covered the Magnesian mares on Mount Pelion (Pindar), engendering the race of Centaurs, who are called the Ixionidae from their descent.

Ixion was expelled from Olympus and blasted with a thunderbolt. Zeus ordered Hermes to bind Ixion to a winged fiery wheel that was always spinning; only when Orpheus played his lyre did it stop for a while. Therefore, Ixion is bound to a burning solar wheel for all eternity, at first spinning across the heavens, but in later myth transferred to Tartarus (Kerenyi 1951:160).

'Ixion' by José Ribera depicts Ixion tortured on the wheel

References

• Pindar, Pythian Ode II.21-48. (On-line text)
• The story of Ixion is also told by pseudo-Apollodorus Epitome of the Bibliotheca, 1.20; Diodorus Siculus, 4.69.3-.5; Hyginus, Fabulae 33 (mention) and 62; Virgil in Georgics 4 and Aeneid 6, and by Ovid in Metamorphoses 12
• Graves, Robert, (1955) 1960. The Greek Myths Section 63 passim.
• Kerenyi, Karl, 1951. The Gods of the Greeks (Thames and Hudson), pp 158-160
• Lucian of Samosata, Dialogues of the Gods (On-line text in English) The myth reduced to lightly cynical comedy of manners to entertain an audience of the second-century CE.

Other uses of the name

Astronomy

• 28978 Ixion, a plutino discovered in 2001, is named after Ixion.

Transportation

• Ixion was a South Devon Railway 4-4-0ST steam locomotive in the South Devon Railway Comet class.
• Ford created a concept vehicle known as the Ixion.

Computer and video games

• In the video games Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, Ixion is the name of the Aeon of lightning. He appears as a large black unicorn with a curved horn. Ixion also makes an appearance in Final Fantasy XII as an optional hunt the player can undertake.
• In the video game Soul Calibur III, it is Tira's second unlockable weapon. It fits, as Tira's weapons are giant chakrams (metal bladed rings), which refers to Ixion's fate. In the same game, in Chronicles of the Sword, Chronicle 20, Ixion is an enemy.
• In the video game Civilization II: Test of Time, of the Science-Fiction campaign, (mostly occurring on the second planet 'Funestis') within the nearby star system Lalande 21185, when any of the alien races discover Circular Supports, they are able to build the Ixion military unit. The Ixion is a fast moving rover-like catapult that hurls exploding balls of fire at their enemy. While an effective scout and cavalry (hit and run) unit, it is barely (if at all) able to defend itself if attacked.
• In the video game Dark Cloud 2, Ixion is the name of the train used by Max and Monica to travel through time.
• In the video game Beatmania IIDX 10th style consumer version, "IXION" is a song under the genre Psychedelic Trance, performed by L.E.D.
• Aircraft of an airline named "Air Ixion" appear in Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies. The same airline is referred to in radio chatter during another mission in Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
• Ixion is the name of a computer game published for Acorn's RISC OS computers.

Other

• Ixion appears in various incarnations throughout the Final Fantasy series as both a summoned monster and an enemy monster.
• Ixion is a UK-based motorcycle-enthusiast mailing list [1]
• Ixion appears in the rock opera of Dr. Shock, proving a fame-hungry anti-hero who, while attempting to save the world, is thwarted by his own greedy intentions. [2]
• Ixion is a Polish metalcore band, formed in 2001 in Bydgoszcz, named after 28978 Ixion planetoid [3]
• In the TV show Xena: Warrior Princess, when Ixion created the Centaurs, he had a choice between making them noble or evil. He made them noble, and put all of their evil into a stone, called The Ixion Stone, which he hid in the Ixion Caverns.
• In the D&D "Mystara" Campaign Setting, Ixion is a deity associated with Sun, and banishing darkness. His symbol is a flaming wheel.