Chrysus (Greek: Χρυσός; Khrysos; meaning "gold"[1]) in Greek mythology is a minor god and the personification of gold.

Mythology

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Chrysus is mentioned a lot in Greek literature by Pindar:

Khrysos (Gold) is a child of Delos father of metals; neither moth nor rust devoureth it; but the mind of man is devoured by this supreme possession.

— Pindar, Fragment 222 (trans. Sandys) (Greek lyric 5th century BC)

In his Isthmian Odes, Pindar also wrote:

Mother of the Sun, Theia of many names, for your sake men honor gold as more powerful than anything else,[2]

Furthermore, a scholium on those lines wrote ἐκ Θείας καὶ Ὑπερίονος ὁ Ἥλιος, ἐκ δὲ Ἡλίου ὁ χρυσός,[3] denoting a special connection of Theia, the goddess of sight and brilliance, with gold as the mother of Helios the Sun.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Greek Word Study Tool". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  2. ^ Pindar I.5.1–3
  3. ^ Scholia on Pindar I.5.3., "The Sun came from Theia and Hyperion, and from the Sun came gold".
  4. ^ Isthmian odes of Pindar, edited with introduction and commentary by J. B. Bury, M.A., London, Macmillan and Co., 1892, p. 92