| Corone | |
|---|---|
_-_Francisco_Vieira_Lusitano.png) Neptune and Corone, 1724, byVieira Lusitano. | |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Human, then crow |
| Gender | Female |
| Title | Princess |
| Relatives | Coronaeus (father) |
| Homeland | Phocis |
InGreek andRoman mythology,Corone (Ancient Greek:Κορώνη,romanized: Korṓnē,lit. 'crow'[1]pronounced[korɔ̌ːnɛː]) is a young woman who attracted the attention ofPoseidon, the god of the sea, and was saved byAthena, the goddess of wisdom. She was a princess and the daughter ofCoronaeus. Her brief tale is recounted in the narrative poemMetamorphoses by the Roman poetOvid. Several other myths surround the crow about its connection to Athena.
According toOvid, one day as Corone was walking by the seashore, the sea-godPoseidon saw her and attempted to seduce her. When his efforts failed, he attempted to rape her instead. However, Corone fled from his rapacious advances, crying out to men and gods. While no man heard her, "the virgin goddess feels pity for a virgin", and so PallasAthena transformed her into acrow.[2][3]
An unspecified time later, she recounted her woes during a conversation with the raven,Lycius, who had similar grievances of his own. She also cited her resentment that her place as Athena's bird-servant had been usurped and taken over by the owl, the metamorphosedNyctimene, because that transformation was punitive.[4]
Ovid himself does not mention her by name and simply calls hercornix, or "the crow", in Latin. Instead her name proper is attested by an anonymous Greek paradoxographer.[5]
The relation between Athena and the crow is not always amicable. In one myth, afterHephaestus tried to assault Athena and the infantErichthonius was born from his semen that fell on the earth, Athena put the child in a box and gave it to the daughters ofCecrops, instructing them not to open the box before she returned. The maidens disobeyed her, and the crow flew to Athena bearing the news.[6] Athena, angered over the ill news the crow had brought her, cursed it to never be able to fly over theAcropolis of Athens again.[3][7] The narrative featuring Poseidon seems to have developed as an elaboration of this version, as otherwise it has no starting-point in a historical cult of Athena and the crow.[8]
In one ofAesop'sfables, a crow invites a dog to a banquet and makes a sacrifice to Athena. The dog remarks that this is no use, as Athena dislikes her. The crow then answers that Athena might not like her, but she will sacrifice to her nonetheless in an effort to make amends with the goddess.[9][10] A fragment from the Hellenistic poetCallimachus implies the existence of a story, not surviving, where the crow warned the owl (Nyctimene?) against tale-bearing, lamenting that the wrath of Athena is a terrible thing.[11][12]
The second-century travellerPausanias wrote that inCorone, a small town inMessenia in southwesternPeloponnese, a statue of Athena held in her outstretched hand a crow instead of the accustomed owl.[3][13]
John Gower took up the tale for use in hisConfessio Amantis, with particular emphasis on her delight in her escape:
With feathers of a coaly black,
Out of his arms, like bolt from bow,
She flew in likeness of a crow:
And this, to her, was more delight -
To keep her maiden treasure white
Beneath a feather cloak of black -
Than, pearly-skinned, to lose and lack
What never can return again.[14]
Media related toCornix at Wikimedia Commons
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