Helice, nurse of the godZeus during his infancy onCrete[1] together with her sisterAex.[2] Her name suggests that she was a "willow-nymph", just as there wereoak-tree nymphs andash-nymphs (Dryads andMeliae). It is likely that she is the same asIde. WhenCronus once came to Crete in search of Zeus, the young god hid himself and his nurses by turning them into bears, as he became a serpent. Later, when he became king, he made them both constellations, Helice becoming Ursa Major, whileCynosura becameUrsa Minor.[3][4] Helice, in antiquity, was a common proper name for theconstellation Ursa Major.[5] In one version,Demeter asks the stars whether they know anything about her daughterPersephone's abduction, and Helice tells her to askHelios, who knows the deeds of the day, because the night is blameless and knows nothing.[6] Another account relates that Helice and her sister Aex were the nymph-daughters ofOlenus, son ofHephaestus. It was said that the trio gave their names to the following cities—Olenus inAulis,Helice in thePeloponnesus, and Aex inHaemonia.[2]
Helike, anAegialian princess as the only daughter of KingSelinus who wed her withIon.[9] By the latter, she became the mother ofBura.[10] Later on, Ion built acity which he named after Helice.[11]
This article includes a list of Greek mythological figures with the same or similar names. If aninternal link for a specific Greek mythology article referred you to this page, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended Greek mythology article, if one exists.
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