Ascalaphus
Ascalaphus was the son of the underworld river Acheron who told the gods that Persephone had eaten pomegranate seeds — condemning her to return to Hades.
The Myth of Ascalaphus
Ascalaphus served as the orchardist of Hades in the underworld, tending the gardens of the dead. When Persephone ate pomegranate seeds during her captivity, Ascalaphus witnessed the act and reported it to Zeus, preventing Demeter from securing her daughter's full release. Demeter was furious at this betrayal and buried Ascalaphus beneath a heavy rock in Tartarus. When Heracles later descended to capture Cerberus, he rolled the stone away, but Demeter's wrath was not satisfied — she transformed Ascalaphus into a screech owl, condemned to haunt the darkness forever. His fate shows how even minor witnesses could be caught between the terrible wills of the Olympian gods.
Parents
Acheron and Gorgyra (or Orphne)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The screech owl became a bird of bad omen in Greek culture partly because of Ascalaphus — a snitch transformed into nature's alarm.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Demeter
⚡ godGoddess of harvest and the Eleusinian Mysteries
Demeter was the goddess of grain, harvest, and fertility whose grief over Persephone's abduction explained the seasons and whose Mysteries promised hope beyond death.
Demeter
⚡ godGoddess of the harvest, agriculture, fertility, sacred law
Goddess of grain, harvest, and the fertility of the earth. When her daughter Persephone was abducted, Demeter's grief brought winter to the world.
Demeter
⚡ godGoddess of the harvest and sacred law
The goddess of grain and agriculture whose grief at losing her daughter created winter and whose mysteries at Eleusis promised life after death.
Sphinx
🐉 creatureRiddler and strangler of Thebes
The Greek Sphinx was a winged monster with the head of a woman and the body of a lion who posed a deadly riddle to all who approached Thebes.
Lotis
🌿 nymphtrees, escape
A nymph who fled the god Priapus and was transformed into the lotus tree to escape his assault.
Lamia
🐉 creatureChild-devouring queen turned monster
Lamia was a beautiful queen of Libya whom Zeus loved; when Hera killed her children in jealousy, Lamia was driven mad and became a child-snatching monster.
Sphinx
🐉 creatureRiddling monster with a lion body and human head
A creature with the body of a lion, wings of an eagle, and head of a woman. The Sphinx terrorized Thebes with her deadly riddle until Oedipus solved it.
Sybaris
🐉 creaturemonsters
A monstrous serpent-dragon that terrorised the region around Delphi until slain by a young hero
Colchian Dragon
🐉 creatureSleepless guardian of the Golden Fleece
The Colchian Dragon was an enormous, ever-wakeful serpent that guarded the Golden Fleece in the sacred grove of Ares in Colchis.
Python
🐉 creatureSerpent of Delphi slain by Apollo
Python was the enormous serpent that guarded the oracle at Delphi before Apollo arrived, slew it, and claimed the site for his own.
Tereus
🗡 herocrime
Thracian king who raped Philomela, cut out her tongue, and was transformed into a hoopoe bird.
Pomona
⚡ godFruit trees, orchards, gardens
Roman goddess of fruit trees and orchards, with no direct Greek equivalent