Glaukos | Colour | digital manipulated image of fibreglass sculpture

Colour version of a digital manipulated image of Glaukos fibreglass sculpture.

black and white Glaukos digital manipulated image of fibre glass sculpture

Glaukos

One of the sons of the Cretan King Minos by Pasiphae. He fell into a cask full of honey and drowned. Minos searched after his son in vain, and was informed by the Curetes that the person who should devise the most appropriate comparison between a cow, which could assume three different colours, and any other object, should find the boy and restore him to his father.

Minos assembled his soothsayers, Polyeidos of Argos, solved the problem by likening the cow to a mulberry, which is at first white, then red, and in the end black.

Polyeidos, who knew nothing of the oracle, was compelled to find Glaukos and bring him to his father. By his prophetic powers and being guided by an owl (glaux) and bees, he found Glaukos dead in the cask of honey.
Minos ordered that Polyeidos to be entombed alive with the body of Glaukos until he brought him back to life.

When shut up in the vault, he saw a serpent approaching the dead body, and killed the animal.

Another serpent, carrying a herb, covered the dead serpent. The dead serpent was thereby restored to life, and when Polyeidos covered the body of Glaukos with the same herb, the boy at once rose into life again.

The story of the Cretan Glaukos and Polyeidos was a favourite subject with the ancient poets and artists; it was not only represented in mimic dances, but Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides made it the subject of separate dramatic compositions.