Phlegyas

Phlegias with Dante and Virgil, stained glass in Museo Poldi Pezzoli in Milan.

Phlegyas /ˈflɛdʒiəs/ (Greek: Φλεγύας), son of Ares and Chryse or Dotis, was king of the Lapiths in Greek mythology. He was the father of Ixion and Coronis, one of Apollo's lovers.

Mythology

While pregnant with Asclepius, Coronis fell in love with Ischys: Son of Elatus. When a hooded crow informed Apollo of the affair, he sent his sister Artemis to kill Coronis. Apollo rescued the baby from Coronis' womb though and gave it to the centaur Chiron to raise. Phlegyas was irate at Apollo for killing his daughter and torched the Apollonian temple at Delphi, causing Apollo to kill him.

In the Aeneid of Virgil, Phlegyas is shown tormented in the Underworld warning others not to despise the Gods. In the Thebaid of Statius, Phlegyas is also shown to be in the Underworld entombed in a rock by Megaera (one of the Furies) and starves in front of an eternal feast.

Other appearances

• In the Divine Comedy poem Inferno, Phlegyas ferries Virgil and Dante across the river Styx which is portrayed as a marsh where the wrathful and sullen lie within Hell's Circle of Anger. Phlegyas was the mythical ancestor of the Phlegyans.

• Phlegyas appears in the video game Dante's Inferno. This version became a gigantic fiery rock monster following his death. Dante unknowingly rides across the Styx on the wrathful demigod's crown. After fighting his way towards Dis and seeing Beatrice become Lucifer's bride, Dante takes control of Phlegyas and uses him to break into the City of Dis. When Dante reaches the circle of Heresy, Phlegyas breaks the ground he's standing on. Dante manages to jump off in time, but Phlegyas breaks through the floor and plummets into the abyss.
  • In the animated film based on the video game called Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic, the appearance of Phlegyas (whose vocal effects are provided by Kevin Michael Richardson) is more toned down as he appears in the film as a green-skinned humanoid who willingly took Dante and Virgil through the fifth circle of Hell without incident. He was knocked out by Lucifer when Dante controlled Phlegyas to charge Lucifer.

External links

• Media related to Phlegyas at Wikimedia Commons