Corybas
Encyclopedia
Corybas is the son of Iasion
and the goddess Cybele
, who gave his name to the Corybantes (Koribantes), or dancing priests of Phrygia
. The Korybantes were associated with Orpheus
, another son of Apollo
and a Mousa
, founder of the closely related Orphic Mysteries.http://www.theoi.com//Georgikos/KorybantesSamothrakioi.html
According to Diodorus Siculus
:
Iasion
In Greek mythology, Iasion or Iasus was usually the son of Electra and Zeus and brother of Dardanus. Iasion founded the mystic rites on the island of Samothrace. With Demeter, he was the father of twin sons named Ploutos and Philomelus, and another son named Korybas...
and the goddess Cybele
Cybele
Cybele , was a Phrygian form of the Earth Mother or Great Mother. As with Greek Gaia , her Minoan equivalent Rhea and some aspects of Demeter, Cybele embodies the fertile Earth...
, who gave his name to the Corybantes (Koribantes), or dancing priests of Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
. The Korybantes were associated with Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
, another son of Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
and a Mousa
Mousa
Mousa is a small island in Shetland, Scotland, uninhabited since the nineteenth century. The island is known for the Broch of Mousa, an Iron Age round tower, and is designated as a Special Protection Area for storm-petrel breeding colonies.-Geography:...
, founder of the closely related Orphic Mysteries.http://www.theoi.com//Georgikos/KorybantesSamothrakioi.html
According to Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
:
This wedding of CadmusCadmusCadmus or Kadmos , in Greek mythology was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa. He was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores...
and HarmoniaHarmonia-Art:* Harmonia , an outdoor sculpture by Achim Kühn in Turku, Finland-Antiquity:* Harmonia , the Greek goddess of harmony and concord* Harmonia -Art:* Harmonia (sculpture), an outdoor sculpture by Achim Kühn in Turku, Finland-Antiquity:* Harmonia (mythology), the Greek goddess of harmony and...
was the first, we are told, for which the gods provided the marriage-feast, and DemeterDemeterIn Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons . Her common surnames are Sito as the giver of food or corn/grain and Thesmophoros as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society...
, becoming enamoured of IasionIasionIn Greek mythology, Iasion or Iasus was usually the son of Electra and Zeus and brother of Dardanus. Iasion founded the mystic rites on the island of Samothrace. With Demeter, he was the father of twin sons named Ploutos and Philomelus, and another son named Korybas...
, presented him with the fruit of the corn, HermesHermesHermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
gave a lyre (lyra), AthenaAthenaIn Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
the renowned necklace and a robe and a flute (auloi), and ElectraElectraIn Greek mythology, Electra was an Argive princess and daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father Agamemnon...
the sacred rites of the Great Mother of the Gods, as she is called, together with cymbals (kymbala) and kettledrums (tympana) and the instruments of her ritual; and ApolloApolloApollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
played upon the lyre (kitharisai) and the Muses upon their flutes (aulesai), and the rest of the gods spoke them fair and gave the pair their aid in the celebration of the wedding. After this Cadmus, they say, in accordance with the oracle he had received, founded ThebesThebes, GreeceThebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
in BoeotiaBoeotiaBoeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
, while Iasion married CybeleCybeleCybele , was a Phrygian form of the Earth Mother or Great Mother. As with Greek Gaia , her Minoan equivalent Rhea and some aspects of Demeter, Cybele embodies the fertile Earth...
and beget Corybas. And after Iasion had been removed into the circle of the gods, DardanusDardanusIn Greek mythology, Dardanus was a son of Zeus and Electra, daughter of Atlas, and founder of the city of Dardania on Mount Ida in the Troad....
and Cybelê and Corybas conveyed to Asia the sacred rites of the Mother of the Gods and removed with them to Phrygia. Thereupon Cybelê, joining herself to the first OlympusMount OlympusMount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...
, begat Alcê and called the goddess Cybelê after herself; and Corybas gave the name of Corybantes to all who, in celebrating the rites of his mother, acted like men possessed, and married ThebeThebeThebe is a female name mentioned several times in Greek mythology, in accounts that imply multiple female characters, three of whom are said to have had two cities named Thebes after them:...
, the daughter of CilixCilixIn Greek mythology, Cilix was a son of Agenor and Telephassa or Argiope and brother of Cadmus, Phoenix and Europa.When Europa was carried off by Zeus, Agenor sent his three sons out to find her, telling them not to return until they find her. The search was unsuccessful. Cilix eventually settled...
. In like manner he also transferred the flute (auloi) from SamothraceSamothraceSamothrace is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a self-governing municipality within the Evros peripheral unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,723 . Its main industries are fishing and tourism. Resources on the island includes granite and...
to PhrygiaPhrygiaIn antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
and to LyrnessusLyrnessusIn Greek mythology Lyrnessus was a town or city in Dardania , inhabited by Cilicians. It was closely associated with the nearby Cilician Thebe. At the time of the Trojan War, it was said to have been ruled by a king named Mynes. His widowed wife is Briseis, who later became a prize of Achilles....
the lyre (lyra) which Hermes gave and which at a later time AchillesAchillesIn Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
took for himself when he sacked that city. (V. 49, Translation: Oldfather 1970)