Iapyx

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Iapyx removing an arrowhead from the leg of Aeneas, with Aeneas's son, Ascanius (or Iulus), crying beside him.

In Greek and Roman mythology, Iapyx (from Greek Ἰάπυξ, gen.: Ἰάπυγος), Iapux or Iapis was a favorite of Apollo. The god wanted to confer upon him the gift of prophecy, the lyre, etc.; but Iapyx, wishing to prolong the life of his father, preferred the more tranquil art of healing to all the others.

Virgil's Aeneid (XII: 391–402) relates that Iapyx was Aeneas's healer during the Trojan War and then escaped to Italy after the war, founding Apulia.

Family

His descent is unclear. He was either:

Other use

Iapyx is also the name of a minor Greek wind god, the north-west or west-north-west wind. Virgil relates this Iapyx to the wind that carried the fleeing Cleopatra home to Egypt after her loss at the battle of Actium.[5] Horace (Odes 1.3, line 4) prays that Iapyx may safely carry his friend Virgil's ship to Greece.

Notes

  1. ^  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainSchmitz, Leonhard (1870). "Iapis". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 2. p. 550.
  2. ^ Anton. Lib. 31.
  3. Servius
    ad Aeneidos iii. 332).
  4. ^ Strabo vi.; Athen. xii.; Herod. vii. 170; Heyne, ad Virg. Aen. xi. 247.
  5. ^ Virgil, Aeneid, 8.710.

References


This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Iapyx. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy