Have you ever heard of the phrase “The Halcyon days”? Well, it has its origins to the beautiful and touching myth of Halcyone and Ceyx . And since we have a lovely day here, I was inspired to talk about the myth behind this phrase!
According to the legend, Halcyone was the daughter of Aeolus, the ruler of the Winds. She married Ceyx, the king of Thessaly. They were very happy together in Trachis, and often playfully called each other “Zeus” and “Hera”. This fact angered Zeus who waited for the proper time to punish the arrogant couple who dared to make themselves comparable to gods. So, while Ceyx was at sea going to consult the oracle of Apollo, Zeus threw a thunderbolt at his ship. When Halcyone learned of his fate, she threw herself into the sea in her grief. Out of compassion, the gods changed them both into halcyon birds (named after Halcyone), widely known as “kingfishers”. Zeus ordered that Halcyone would lay her eggs only in winter. Having her nest near the shore, the stormy waves kept sweeping away her eggs. Crying and praying endlessly, Halcyone finally managed to touch Zeus's heart, who decided to give her two weeks of warm and sunny weather in the middle of winter, so as to keep her eggs safe.
By the 16th century the phrase “halcyon days” had lost its association with the nesting time of the bird and had taken on the metaphorical meaning of "calm days" (Shakespeare: Henry VI, 1952). The phrase has since come to refer to any peaceful time.
Myths
are an integral part of Greek culture and especially Halcyone’s
myth sends a positive message to the world through the centuries.
Nature shows us that there are rainy and sunny days as there are
pleasant and disagreeable things in life. There is nothing permanent,
they all come and go revealing a world full of wanders!
