Women, Weird and Wonderful: Chione, Mortal Mother of Divine Twins

In ancient Greek society, motherhood was at the core of a woman’s life. But she wasn’t allowed to be proud of this achievement, that would be hubris. Lots of cautionary tales about bragging mothers, take Chione’s for example. She was so pretty that she attracted the attention of both Hermes and Apollo. Hermes took advantage of her while she was sleeping, and Apollo visited her in the guise of an old woman. This resulted in the birth of Phillamon, skilled lyre player, and Autolykos, notorious thief. I leave it up to you to decide about fatherhood. Chione was young and naive, and couldn’t resist boasting about her divine twins. Now, Apollo’s sister, Artemis, resented Chione, for not having contented with her brother. (As if it had been her own choice.) Furthermore, she blamed the girl for bringing a devious scammer into the family. So, she unalived her, to the immense grief of Chione’s father, who jumped off a cliff. Apollo didn’t intervene for the mother of his child, but he did for her father, turning him into a hawk. Strange priorities, all of them.

Chione killed, Tapestry, Raphaël de la Planche, Château Vaux-le-Vicomte, Maincy, France

Death of Chione, Nicolas Poussin, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, France