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This article is about the Greek myth. For the trans-Neptunian object, see 28978 Ixion

In Greek mythology, Ixion was one of the Lapiths, a king of Thessaly, and a son of Phlegyas. Pirithous was his son. He married Dia, a daughter of Deioneus and promised his father-in-law a valuable present. He did not pay bride price, so Deioneus stole some of Ixion's horses in retaliation. Ixion concealed his resentment and invited his father-in-law to a feast at Larissa. When Deioneus arrived, Ixion pushed him into a bed of burning coals and wood. The neighboring princes were so offended by this act of treachery (and violation of the laws of hospitality) that they refused to perform the rituals that would cleanse Ixion of his guilt. Thereafter, Ixion lived as an outlaw and shunned. By killing his father-in-law, Ixion was reckoned the first man guilty of kin slaying in Greek mythology. That alone would warrant him a terrible punishment.

However, Zeus had pity on Ixion and brought him to Olympus and introduced him at the table of the gods. Instead of being grateful, Ixion grew lustful for Hera, Zeus's wife. Hera was willing to be with Ixion, but Zeus found out about the attempt (either because Hera told him or because of his own efforts). Zeus made a cloud in the shape of Hera and tricked Ixion into coupling with it. From the union of Ixion and the cloud came the race of centaurs (hence their being called Ixionidae). Ixion was expelled from Olympus and blasted with a thunderbolt. Zeus ordered Hermes to bind Ixion to a wheel that was always spinning. Therefore, Ixion is bound to a burning wheel for all eternity in Tartarus. The story of Ixion is told by Diodorus, PindarPindar (or Pindarus ( 522 BC 443 BC), the greatest lyric poet of ancient Greece, was born at Cynoscephalae, a village in Thebes. He was the son of Daiphantus and Cleodice. The traditions of his family have left their impression on his poetry, and are not, VirgilFor other uses see Virgil (disambiguation). Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 19 BC) known in English as Virgil or Vergil Latin poet, is the author of the Eclogues the Georgics and the Aeneid this last being a narrative poem in twelve books that is in Georgics 4 and AeneidThe Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy where he became the ancestor of the Romans. Form and Tradition The Aeneid is an epic poem of twelve books, in consc 6, and by OvidFor other uses, see Ovid (disambiguation Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC AD 17) Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid wrote on topics of love, abandoned women, and mythological transformations. Ovid wrote in elegiac couplets, with in MetamorphosesDisambiguation: This article is about the poem Metamorphoses written by the poet Ovid. The Metamorphoses written by Lucius Apuleius is generally known in English as The Golden Ass. See Antoninus Liberalis for his prose mythological work called Metamorphos 12.