See also Ceyx (disambiguation).

In Greek mythology Ceyx, son of Eosphorus and the king of Thessaly was married to Alcyone. They were very happy together, but after Ceyx perished in a shipwreck, Alcyone threw herself into the sea. Out of compassion, the gods changed them into the halcyon birds. When Alcyone made her nest on the beach waves threatened to destroy it, Aeolus restrained his winds and made the waves be calm during seven days in each year, so she could lay her eggs. These became known as the "halcyon days", when storms never occur. 'Halcyon days' has since become a term used to describe a peaceful time. (Ovid Metamorphoses XI, 410ff.-748). Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and their own cult and ritual practices. ... Henry Longfellow wrote an epic poem called The Wreck of the Hesperus. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... Halcyon may be: Look up halcyon on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Engraved frontispiece of George Sandyss 1632 London edition of Publius Ovidius Naso (Sulmona, March 20, 43 BC – Tomis, now Constanţa AD 17), a Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid, wrote on topics of love, abandoned women and mythological transformations. ... // Cover of George Sandyss 1632 edition of Ovids Metamorphosis Englished The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid is a poem in fifteen books that describes the creation and history of the world in terms according to Greek and Roman points of view. ...

Later references

• Various kinds of kingfishers are named after the couple, in reference to the metamorphosis myth:
  • The genus Ceyx (within the River kingfishers family) is named after him
  • The kingfisher family Halcyonidae (Tree Kingfishers) is named after his wife, as is the genus Halcyon.
  • The Belted Kingfisher's Latin species name (Megaceryle alcyon) also references her name.
• Their story features in The Book of the Duchess.

Families Alcedinidae Halcyonidae Cerylidae Kingfishers are birds of the three families Alcedinidae (river kingfishers), Halcyonidae (tree kingfishers), and Cerylidae (water kingfishers). ... For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... Genera Alcedo Ceyx Ispidina The river kingfishers or Alcedinidae, are one of the three families of bird in the kingfisher group. ... In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ... Genera Actenoides Carydonax Cittura Clytoceyx Halcyon Lacedo Melidora Pelargopsis Tanysiptera Dacelo Syma Todirhamphus The tree kingfishers or wood kingfishers, family Halcyonidae, are the most numerous of the three families of birds in the kingfisher group. ... 1. ... Binomial name Megaceryle alcyon (Linnaeus, 1758) The Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) is a large, conspicuous and noisy kingfisher, the only member of that group commonly found in the northern United States and Canada. ... John of Gaunt Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster The Book of the Duchess is a dream vision narrative poem written by Geoffrey Chaucer. ...

External links

• Smith entry
• Perseus Encylopaedia

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith (1867). The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology is a encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. ... Sir William Smith (1813 - 1893), English lexicographer, was born at Enfield in 1813 of Nonconformist parents. ...