Megaletor

Greek mythological figure

Fictional character

Megaletor
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Title	Prince
Relatives	Munichus (father) Lelante (mother) Alcander, Philaeus (brothers) Hyperippe (sister)
Birthplace	Molossia

In Greek mythology, Megaletor (Ancient Greek: Μεγαλήτωρ, romanized: Megalḗtо̄r, lit. 'great-hearted') is a minor figure, a prince of the Molossians, who was transformed into a bird by the will of Zeus, the god of justice, in order to escape a fiery death.

Family

Philaeus was one of the sons of the Molossian king Munichus by his wife Lelante. He had two brothers, Alcander and Philaeus, and a sister named Hyperippe.

Mythology

The entire family was seen as just and righteous and therefore especially favored by the gods. One day raiders attacked them in the fields; the family ran off to their house and began to throw various objects at them in self-defense, whereupon the offenders set the house ablaze. The god of justice, Zeus would not let his favourites suffer such a cruel and undeserving death that he changed them all six of them into various birds in order to save them from the flames; Megaletor himself was changed into a 'ichneumon bird', a bird that is very hard to say what it could be identified with.^[1]^[2]^[3]

References

^ Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.717
^ Antoninus Liberalis, 14
^ Celoria 1992, p. 77.

Bibliography

Antoninus Liberalis, The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992). Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Celoria, Francis (1992). The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis: A Translation with a Commentary. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-06896-7.
Ovid, Metamorphoses, Volume II: Books 9-15. Translated by Frank Justus Miller. Revised by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library 43. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1916.

Metamorphoses in Greek mythology

Animals

Avian	Abas Acanthis Acanthus Acmon Aëdon Aegolius Aegypius Aëtos Aesacus Agrius and Oreius Agron Alcander Alcyone Alcyone and Ceyx Alcyonides Alectryon Anthus Antigone Argus Arne Sithonis Artemiche Ascalaphus Asteria Autonous Botres Bulis Byssa Caeneus Celeus Cerberus Chelidon Cinyras Clinis Combe Corone Ctesylla Cycnus of Aetolia Cycnus of Ares Cycnus of Colonae Cycnus of Liguria Daedalion Erinoma Erodius Eumelus Gerana Harpalyce Harpasus Harpe Hierax Hippodamia Hyperippe Hyria Ictinus Idas Ino Itys Iynx Laius Lelante Lycius Lycus Megaletor Meleagrids Memnonides Meropis Merops Minyades Munichus Neophron Nisus Nyctaea Nyctimene Oenoe Oenotropae Ortygius Pandareus Pelia Perdix Periphas Peristera Picus Pierides Phene Philaeus Philomela Pleiades Polyphonte Polytechnus Procne Rhexenor Schoeneus Scylla Tereus Timandra
Non-avian	Abas Actaeon Arachne Arcas Arge Aristaeus Ascalabus Atalanta Cadmus Calchus Callisto Cephissus Cerambus Cercopes Chelone Circe Curetes Cynosura Galanthis Gale Harmonia Hecuba Helice Hippomenes Io Lycaon Lycian peasants Lyncus Melanippe Melian nymphs Melissa Minyades Myia Myrmex Naïs Nerites Ocyrhoe Odysseus Pentheus Phalanx Phineus Phoenice Pompilus Taygete Theophane Tiresias Titanis Tithonus Tyrrhenian pirates Aethalides Alcimedon Dictys Epopeus Melas Medon Opheltes

Avian