| Ascalaphus | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Demeter turns Ascalaphus into an owl. Engraving byJohann Ulrich Kraus, 1690 | |
| Abode | Underworld |
| Parents | Acheron (Father) Orphne (Mother) |
InGreek mythology,Ascalaphus (/əˈskæləfəs/;Ancient Greek: ἈσκάλαφοςAskalaphos) was the son ofAcheron andOrphne.
Ascalaphus is the son of the stygianriver god,Acheron, and thenymph,Orphne, and who was the custodian ofHades' orchard in theUnderworld. He told the other gods thatPersephone had eatenpomegranate seeds in the Underworld. Because she had tasted food in the underworld, Persephone was obliged to return to the Underworld and spend four months[1] (in later versions six months[2]) there every year.
Demeter was so angry, she buried Ascalaphus beneath a heavy rock in the Underworld. WhenHeracles went to the underworld, he rolled the stone away and released him from his prison. But then, Demeter transformed Ascalaphus into aneagle owl. According to another myth, Persephone herself changed him into an eagle owl by sprinkling him with water of the riverPhlegethon.[3]Ovid mentions: "So he became the vilest bird; a messenger of grief; the lazy owl; sad omen to mankind."[4] As an owl, he became the familiar bird of Hades, god of the underworld.
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