Ceyx and Alcyone

Ceyx, the king of Thessaly, was the son of Lucifer, the light bringer, and the star that brings in the day. His wife, Alcyone, was the daughter of Aeolus, the King of the Winds. The two loved each other devotedly and never separated. Nevertheless, a time came when Ceyx decided that he must leave her and make a long journey across the sea to consult an oracle. Alcyone was overwhelmed with grief and terror. She told him that she had grown up in the palace of the King of the Winds and she knew very well what often happened to ships at sea. But she still couldn’t persuade him, so she begged to be allowed to go with him. At last, Ceyx didn’t allow it, for she loved him no better than he loved her. So he sailed alone.

That night a great storm broke over the sea. The crews were terrified except Ceyx, who thought only of Alcyone and rejoiced that she was in safety. Her name was on his lips when the ship sank and the waters closed over him.

Alcyone waited patiently for Ceyx's return. She kept herself busy, weaving a robe for him against his return. Every day, she prayed to the gods for him, to Hera (Juno) most of all. The goddess was touched by those prayers for a man who already dead. She sent Morpheus, son of the old god of sleep to visit Alcyone in a dream. Morpheus assumed the shape of the drowned Ceyx. He said to Alcyone, "Poor wife, look, your husband is here. Do you know me, or is my face changed in death? I am dead, Alcyone. Your name was on my lips when the waters overwhelmed me. There is no hope for me any more. But give me your tears. Let me not go down into the shadowy world unwept." In her sleep Alcyone moaned and stretched her arms out to clasp him. She cry aloud and said “Wait for me, I will go with you," and her cry awakened her. Alcyone knew her husband was dead. "I will not try to live,” she said.

When the sun rose, she went to the shore. As she gazed seaward, far off on the water, she saw something floating. As it got closer she saw...