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Nephele was a cloud nymph and the goddess of hospitality, generosity, loyalty, peace and shyness, who also served as a Queen of Boeotia in Greek Mythology. Nephele was a prominent character in the myths of Hera and Ixion and Phrixus and Helle.


Genealogy and Family[]

Depending on the accounts, Nephele was formed by Zeus, originally as a cloud or born to either the Titan couple, Oceanus and Tethys or Aether, the God of the bright upper sky-alone. By the mortal, Ixion, who ravished her, she is the mother of the Centaurs, Centaurus or Imbrus. Nephele was later wed to Athamas, the King of Boeotia, and with him bore the mortal twins- Phrixus and Helle.

Stories[]

Nephele appears in the story of the mortal Ixion. After Ixion, a mortal son or grandson of Zeus had been invited to Mount Olympus to feast with the gods, he became lustful towards with the Goddess Hera and began to flirt with her, thus violating the guest-host relations. This prompted Zeus, to shape a cloud- really the cloud nymph, Nephele into a Hera look-alike to see Ixion's reaction. Ixion responded to this by thrusting himself upon the Hera look-alike and having intercourse with the cloud- causing the birth of the Centaur race. Zeus, enraged by his violation, then decided to punish Ixion for his impudence, by binding him to a winged fiery wheel in Tartarus, where he would be condemned to suffer for all eternity.

Nephele was also an important character in the myth of Phrixus and Helle. In which she was married to King Athamas of Boeotia, and became mother of the twins, Phrixus and Helle. Athamas however went on to divorce and abandon Nephele to marry Ino, a princess of Thebes. Ino, was an evil stepmother to Phrixus and Helle, and plotted to kill them, by burning a field of crops causing a local famine to occur, then bribing a local oracle to claim that this famine could be ended with the sacrifices of Phrixus and Helle- allowing the land to prosper again. Upon the insistence of Athamas' subjects, Phrixus and Helle were prepared for execution- but were rescued and carried away by a flying golden ram sent by Nephele, that was intended to take them to safety, along the journey however, Helle swooned and fell off the ram into the Hellespont sea- where she drowned, but within some accounts, she was revived by Poseidon,who turned her into a marine goddess, and later lover, baring him a son, the giant- Almops. Phrixus, on the other hand luckily landed in the land of Colchis, meeting King Aeetes, who had seen him arrive on the flying golden ram. Phrixus was taken in by King Aeetes, who gave him the hand of his daughter Princess Chalciope and in return for his kindness, Phrixus gave the king- the fleece of the golden ram- which King Aeetes kept hung in a tree within his kingdom. This "Golden Fleece" would later be collected by the hero, Jason and his argonauts.

Personality[]

Nephele is a little sensitive. When she cries rain falls harshly, when she's compassionate blessing rain falls. She is happy that she can put a good use to her immortal life. 

Appearance[]

Not much is known about Nephele's appearance as she was not described much in Greek Mythology. She is known however to at least have two forms one of a cloud and one of an attractive, youthful woman. In art, she is often depicted as a beautiful lady surrounded by clouds.

Trivia[]

Nephele resembles Ariel from the play written by Shakespeare, the Tempest. Iris had an involvement in that movie, while Ariel can shape-shift, and can ride on clouds and serves his/her master, Prospero. 

Cesare Pavese's rendition of the myth was adapted for the screen by the filmmaking duo Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet (otherwise known as Straub-Huillet) as part of their 1979 film Dalla nube alla resistenza, starring Olimpia Carlisi as Nephele and Guido Lombardi as Ixion.

Animals as Leaders released a progressive metal song named "Nephele" on their 2014 album The Joy of Motion.

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