LADON
Greek Name
Λαδων
Transliteration
Ladôn
Latin Spelling
Ladon
Translation
River Ladon

LADON was a river-god of Arkadia in the Peloponnese, southern Greece.
The Ladon was a tributary of the Alpheios (Alpheus) River. Its headwaters were located on Mount Kyllene (Cyllene) in north-eastern Arkadia and, flowing the length of the country, it merged with the Alpheios near the Eleian border.
PARENTS
[1] OKEANOS & TETHYS (Hesiod Theogony 337)
OFFSPRING
[1] METOPE (Apollodorus 3.156)
[2] DAPHNE (Pausanias 10.7.8, Philostratus
Life of Apollonius of Tyana 1.16, Statius Thebaid 4.289. Nonnus Dionysiaca 42.386)
[3] THELPOUSA, THEMIS (Pausanias 8.52.2,
8.42.2)
[4] SYRINX, THE
LADONIDES (Ovid Metamorphoses 1.689)
ENCYCLOPEDIA
LADON (Ladôn). A river god of Arcadia, is described as a son of Oceanus and Thetys, and as the husband of Stymphalis, by whom he became the father of Daphne and Metope. (Hes. Theog. 344; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. vi. 143; Diod. iv. 72 Paus. viii. 20. § 1, x. 7, in fin.)
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES
Hesiod, Theogony 337 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.)
:
"Tethys bore to Okeanos (Oceanus) the swirling Potamoi (Rivers) . . . great Sangarios, and Ladon, and
Parthenios [in a list of rivers]."
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 156 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd
A.D.) :
"Metope, herself a daughter of the river Ladon, married him [the River Asopos] and bore two sons, Ismenos
and Pelagon, and twenty daughters."
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 72. 1 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian
C1st B.C.) :
"Asopos (Asopus) made his home in Phlios (Phlius), where he married Metope, the daughter of Ladon, to whom
were born two sons, Pelasgos and Ismenos, and twelve daughters."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 20. 2 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.)
:
"The Ladon [of Arkadia] is the most lovely river in Greece, and is also famous for the legend of Daphne
that the poets tell."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 25. 2 :
"[The town of Thelpousa (Thelpusa) in Arkadia] was named after Thelpousa, a Nymphe, and that she was a
daughter of Ladon."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 7. 8 :
"Apollon fell in love with the daughter of Ladon [i.e. Daphne]."
Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 1. 16 (trans. Conybeare) (Greek biography
C1st to 2nd A.D.) :
"[In Antiokhos (Antioch) in Asia Minor is] the temple of Apollon Daphnaios (Daphnaeus), to which the
Assyrians attach the legend of Arkadia (Arcadia). For they say that Daphne, the daughter of Ladon, there
underwent her metamorphosis, and they have a river flowing there, the Ladon, and a laurel tree is worshipped by
them which they say was substituted for the maiden."
Ovid, Metamorphoses 1. 689 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.)
:
"The Nympha [Syrinx] fled through the wilderness and came at last to Ladon's peaceful sandy stream, and
there, her flight barred by the river, begged her Watery Sisters (Sorores Liquidae) to change
her."
Statius, Thebaid 4. 289 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic C1st A.D.) :
"Ladon, almost, O Pythian [Apollon], the father of thy bride [Daphne]."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 42. 386 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"The daughter [Daphne] of Ladon, that celebrated river, hated the works of marriage and the Nymphe became a
tree."
SOURCES
GREEK
- Hesiod, Theogony - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.
- Apollodorus, The Library - Greek Mythography C2nd A.D.
- Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History - Greek History C1st B.C.
- Pausanias, Description of Greece - Greek Travelogue C2nd A.D.
- Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana - Greek Biography C2nd A.D.
- Nonnus, Dionysiaca - Greek Epic C5th A.D.
ROMAN
- Ovid, Metamorphoses - Latin Epic C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.
- Statius, Thebaid - Latin Epic C1st A.D.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A complete bibliography of the translations quoted on this page.