Alcyone (kingfisher) In Greek mythology, wife of Ceyx; daughter of Aeolus and Enarete. When she learned that her husband, Ceyx, had been drowned on his way to consult an oracle, Alcyone threw herself into the sea, and she and Ceyx both were changed into birds. As long as they built and tended their nest, the Aegean was calm. The term “halcyon days” comes from her name, also rendered Halcyone. Her tale is told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses (book 11) and in Chaucer’s Book of the Duchess.

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Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow-Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante