Greek Myth
Psyche’s Psyche: Intellect, Emotion, Instinct, Innocence
oil on canvas | private collection
Alcyone and Ceyx | Halcyon Kingfishers
In Greek mythology, the goddess Halcyon (Alcyone in Greek) was married to the mortal king Ceyx. Their love for each other was so well known that even gods were envious. When Ceyx was drowned at sea he asked Neptune to bring his body to his wife. In her sorrow, Halcyon attempted to throw herself into the sea but, the gods took pity and because of her love and devotion they turned the couple into kingfisher birds. Zeus ordered that Halcyon would lay her eggs only in winter. Having her nest near the shore, close by the spot where she found the body of Ceyx, the stormy waves kept sweeping away her eggs. Crying and praying endlessly, Halcyon finally managed to touch Zeus’s heart and he decided to give her 14 days of good and calm weather in the middle of winter. The kingfisher birds, or Halcyon birds as they are also known, were able to keep their eggs safe every winter during the period of calm seas that came seven days before and after winter solstice. According to the ancient Greeks, Kingfishers built their nests on rafts of fish-bones. They would then float them out to sea, and lay and incubate their eggs on them.
http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com
There are twelve species of Halcyon Kingfisher. Their habitat is tropical Africa and Asia.