Alcyone (or Halcyone) (Αλκυόνη) was a Greek demi-goddess, sometimes regarded as one of the Pleiades. More often she was thought of as the daughter of Aeolus and wife of Ceyx, son of Eosphorus and the king of Thessaly. They were very happy together, but, when Ceyx perished in a shipwreck, Alcyone (whose name means "queen who wards off storms") threw herself into the sea. Out of compassion, the gods changed them into the halcyon birds. When Alcyone made her nest on the beach waves threatened to destroy it, Aeolus restrained his winds and made the waves be calm during seven days in each year, so she could lay her eggs. These became known as the "halcyon days", when storms never occur. The halcyon has become a symbol of tranquillity.

With Anthedon, she became the mother of Glaucus.

"Alcyone" by Christos Riganis

Source

Ovid XI, 410

Mnaseas of Patrae in Athenaeus

Bulfinch : Ceyx and Halcyone: or, the Halcyon Birds

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Alcyone is also the mystical name given to Jiddu Krishnamurti by C.W. Leadbeater in 1909. The book "At the Feet of the Master" was published in 1910 under the name of Alcyone. The text can be found at [1] (http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/alcyone.htm) and [2] (http://www.theosophical.ca/AtFeetMaster.htm).

Greek Mythology