Elate (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Elate (Ancient Greek: Ἐλάτη, romanized: Elátē, lit. 'fir') is a minor female figure, the sister of the two Aloadae giants who was transformed into a fir tree.^[1]

Family

As sister to the Aloadae, Elate was probably the daughter of Iphimedeia by either Aloeus or Poseidon, the god of the sea.^[2]

Mythology

Elate was big in size, as big as her enormous brothers. When they died after trying to wage war against the heavens, she mourned them so much she was changed into a fir tree.^[3][2] She kept however her great size in her new life, hence the ancient Greek expression "a silver-fir tree big as heaven."^[4][5][6] Her sister, Platanus, had a similar fate.^[4]

See also

• Heliades
• Pelia
• Niobe

References

1. Wright, M. Rosemary. "A Dictionary of Classical Mythology: Summary of Transformations". mythandreligion.upatras.gr. University of Patras. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
2. Bell 1991, s.v. Elate.
3. Libanius, Progymnasmata 38
4. Fontenrose 1981, p. 116.
5. Eustathius on Homer's Odyssey 5.239
6. Bloch, René (Berne), “Elate”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 09 January 2023.

Bibliography

• Bell, Robert E. (1991). Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary. California, United States: ABC-Clio. ISBN 9780874365818.
• Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy (1981). Orion: The Myth of the Hunter and the Huntress. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09632-0.
• Libanius (2008). Libanius's Progymnasmata: Model Exercises in Greek Prose Composition and Rhetoric. Translated by Craig A. Gibson. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 978-1-58983-360-9.