Ixion

ixion's punishment

In ancient times, there were many peoples who tried to explain some of the strangest natural phenomena and some meteorological phenomena. For this, he gave the explanation that the cause of the origin of this meteorological and natural phenomenon was the actions of some of the mythological gods. These gods act on the land of humans with some intention. An Italian expert is in charge of explaining the 22º halo in Greek mythology. The Italian expert who discovered it is called Paolo Coloma and is known as Ixion.

In this article we are going to tell you all the characteristics and mythological origin of Ixion.

Who was Ixion?

ixion burning wheel

Ixion was a mythical king of Thessaly who had a reputation as a bad king. He was not only a bad king, but he was also a bad person. He married Dia who was the daughter of Eioneus, but the payment of the promised gifts to his new soil was overlooked. At that time, there was a custom and it was to give gifts to in-laws during the wedding. The fact that Ixion doesn't give away his in-laws during the wedding sparked a fight. The outcome of the fight ended with Ixion throwing Eioneus into a coal pit burning with wood.

Faced with such a fact, none of the Greek nobles would be willing to forgive the crime on the part of Ixion. Finally, the God himself Zeus be pitied and invited him to Mount Olympus for his purification. The crime was not enough for the evil that Ixion possessed. Once he was in Olympus, the place of the Greek gods, he rewarded the generosity of Zeus with his attempt at union with his wife Hera. Since Zeus was quite wise, he was able to guess the evil intentions and developed a plan. With his powers, he was able to transfigure a cloud called Nefele and give it a very similar resemblance to Hera.. The resulting union connection produced Centaurus who was the Father of the Centaurus.

The punishment that Zeus meted out to Ixion was terrible and eternal. And he was able to discover all the negative intentions towards Hera. Zeus ordered Hermes to be in charge of binding Ixion's hands and feet to place him on a fiery winged wheel so that he could roll for all eternity.

The myth of Ixion and the halo

solar halo

As we have mentioned before, the entire origin of the myth of Ixion comes from a kind of natural phenomenon that could not be explained. Some of the appearances of natural phenomena such as the halo of 22 degrees are common in Greece. In this case, this halo takes place during the rainiest seasons and it is somewhat puzzling that a mythological origin takes place in. In Ancient Greece there was a myth that explained the origin of this phenomenon.

Given the story we have told of Greek mythology in which Ixion appears punished by Zeus himself is the origin of the 22 degree halo. And it is explained that Paolo Coloma, an Italian expert in Greek mythology, affirms that the origin of the explanation of this phenomenon is that it is Ixion turning on the burning wheel as punishment by Zeus.

In order to explain with the greatest possible connection by Greek mythology, Paolo argues that the 22 degree halo follows the sun and is sometimes visible for a few hours. With the red border it could be considered as if it were a ring of fire.

On the other hand, on this side of mythology the halo of 22 degrees is also associated with Nefele, the cloud that was transformed. The scene of the union between Ixion and Nefele was in the heavens since it is the place of Zeus and Olympus. In the tradition prior to this story it is said that the day before punishment was also the ice. The burning wheel is described as flying in the sky eternally.

All this myth is also related to the rain since the appearance of this halo is frequently a precursor of warm fronts that enter precipitation.

How a solar halo is formed

solar halo and mythology

Now we are going to explain how a solar halo originates scientifically and not through mythology. The phenomenon is described as a bright circle around the sun, occurring in cold places. Among them, occurs frequently in Russia, Antarctica, or northern Scandinavia. It usually occurs when environmental conditions are suitable for its formation. Therefore, they can also occur in other places. It is made up of ice particles that are in suspension in the highest part of the troposphere. When sunlight hits these ice particles, they refract the light and make the entire spectrum of colors visible.

The effect seen from the halo is similar to that of a rainbow. It can be called as a circular rainbow that is characterized mainly by being iridescent. In order for the halo situation to occur in another part of the earth, places with normally low temperatures are needed. Has to exist too a high contrast with temperatures from the surface and the temperatures of altitude. In this way, there may be enough ice crystals at altitude that are in charge of refracting the light so that the complete halo is formed. In some places where temperatures are higher, this phenomenon cannot be observed or it is too short.

The high contrasts that exist in temperature in the morning is what generates the appearance of these halos. In the morning the air is colder as it has not had the source of heat from the sun all night. It is one of the reasons why I halo more frequently in the morning. Another requirement is that the type of cloud that is in the sky at that moment are cirrus clouds. And it is that these clouds are formed by small ice crystals that are what derive in the processes of reflection and refraction of light.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about the solar halo and the myth of Ixion.


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