The Story of Elektra

ELEKTRA (Hlektrh) is the daughter of Atlas and Pleione (daughter of Oceanus). She had two sons by the god Zeus and by him became the ancestress of the Trojan royal family. She lived on the island of Samothrake and there raised the goddess Harmonia, daughter of Aphrodite and Ares, with her own sons, Dardanos and Iasion.

Elektra is one of the seven sisters that make up the Pleiades in the constellation of Taurus. The rising of the Pleiades is a sign of summer, and marked the beginning of the sailing season for the ancient Greeks.

“Atlas by Pleione or an Oceanitide had seven daughters ... Their names are as follows: Elektra, Alcyone, Celaeno, Merope, Sterope, Taygeta, and Maia. Of these, they say Elektra does not appear, because of the death of Dardanus and the loss of Troy.”
– Hyginus Fabulae - Latin Mythography C2nd AD

Electrum is an alloy of silver and gold, and means amber in Latin, as does the Greek elektron; Thales of Miletus noted in 600 BC that a rubbed piece of amber will attract bits of straw, a manifestation of the effects of static electricity (outer charge stripping via friction), and perhaps the origin of the modern term electricity.

Back to sfbaysailing.tripod.com