Cephalus

Family: Athens · Role: son of Æolus · First appears: Fable 61

Cephalus belongs to Athens and is identified as the son of Æolus; other traditions name Deioneus as his father, or Mercury and Herse as his parents, while another account makes Deioneus his father-in-law. He married Procris, and at Ægina he sought military aid for Athens from Æacus, who granted him the forces of the island: “Ask not for assistance, O Athens, but take it, and consider, beyond doubt, the resources which this island possesses, as thy own, and let all the forces of my kingdom go {along with thee}.”

After Erectheus united Cephalus and Procris in marriage, Aurora carried him away against his will while he was hunting, though he resisted her advances and returned to test his wife in disguise. He accused Procris after she accepted the disguised suitor’s promises, driving her from the house, but later confessed his fault and was reconciled with her. Procris gave him Diana’s exceptional dog and a javelin; during a later chase, the dog and the wild beast became marble statues.

The following morning, while hunting, Cephalus called for the “breeze” and mistook the sound of Procris among the leaves for a wild beast, killing her with the javelin. He then explained that Aura was only the name he had mistakenly used for the breeze, not that of a beloved nymph. As he mourned, Æacus arrived with Telamon, Peleus, and newly levied soldiers, whom Cephalus received armed.