Iasion
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Iasion (Ἰασίων, gen.: Ἰασίωνος) or Iasus (Ἴασος, gen.: Ἰάσου) was usually the son of Electra
Electra (Pleiad)
The Pleiad Electra of Greek mythology was one of the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Electra was the wife of Corythus. She was raped by Zeus and gave birth to Dardanus, who became the founder of Troy, ancestor of Priam and his house. According to one legend, she was the lost Pleiad,...

 and Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...

 and brother of Dardanus
Dardanus
In 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....

. Iasion founded the mystic rites on the island of Samothrace
Samothrace
Samothrace 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...

. With Demeter
Demeter
In 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...

, he was the father of twin sons named Ploutos and Philomelus
Philomelus
Philomelus or Philomenus was a minor Greek demi-god, the son of Demeter and Iasion, and the brother of Plutus. Plutus was very wealthy, but gave none of his riches to his brother. Out of necessity Philomenus bought two oxen, invented the wagon or plough, and supported himself by ploughing his...

, and another son named Korybas. Because of his hubris
Hubris
Hubris , also hybris, means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power....

, Iasion was killed by Zeus with a thunderbolt
Thunderbolt
A thunderbolt is a discharge of lightning accompanied by a loud thunderclap or its symbolic representation. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors, or, as Plato suggested in Timaeus, of the consequences of a close approach between two planetary cosmic bodies,...

.

At the marriage of Cadmus
Cadmus
Cadmus 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 Harmonia
Harmonia (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Harmonia is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Roman counterpart is Concordia, and her Greek opposite is Eris, whose Roman counterpart is Discordia.-Origins:...

, Iasion was lured by Demeter away from the other revelers. They had intercourse as Demeter lay on her back in freshly plowed furrow. When they rejoined the celebration, Zeus guessed what had happened because of the mud on Demeter's backside, and promptly killed Iasion.
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