In Greek mythology, Deion (Ancient Greek: Δηίων), also spelled Deioneus (Δηιονεύς), was a king of Phocis. He was a son of Aeolus, the eponymous founder of the Aeolian race, and his wife Enarete, which made him one of the brothers of figures such as Sisyphus, Salmoneus, Cretheus and Athamas. By his wife Diomede he fathered several children, among them Cephalus, Actor and Phylacus. The name Deioneus is shared by several other minor figures in Greek myth.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Deioneus" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Etymology
The name appears in two forms in the ancient sources: Deion (Δηίων) and Deioneus (Δηιονεύς). The fuller form, Deioneus, has been understood to carry the sense of "ravager."
Because the name is shared by a number of distinct mythological figures, ancient and modern writers often distinguish this Deion specifically as the king of Phocis and son of Aeolus.
II.Family
Deion was a son of Aeolus, king of Aeolia and founder of the Aeolian people, by his wife Enarete. Through this descent he belonged to one of the great branches of the Hellenic genealogy, and he ruled as king in Phocis.
His many siblings, the children of Aeolus and Enarete, are named in the genealogical tradition as including Sisyphus, Salmoneus, Cretheus, Perieres, Athamas and Magnes among the sons, and Calyce, Canace, Alcyone, Pisidice and Perimede among the daughters.
Deion's wife was Diomede. By her he became the father of several children. The sources most consistently name Cephalus, Actor and Phylacus among his sons, together with Aenetus, and a daughter, Asterodia (also given as Asteropeia). The huntsman Cephalus, famous in the myth of Procris, is in this tradition counted as his son.
III.Mythology
Deion's place in myth is largely genealogical, fixing the descent of his children and his role within the family of Aeolus. As king of Phocis he is the ancestor through whom several Phocian and central-Greek lines are traced.
After the death of his brother Salmoneus, Deion took Salmoneus's daughter Tyro into his own household. He then gave her in marriage to Cretheus, another of his brothers. From the union of Cretheus and Tyro descended a further important branch of the Aeolid family, so that Deion's act of fostering links the line of Salmoneus to that of Cretheus.
The figure of Deion is to be distinguished from several other characters who bear the name Deioneus in Greek mythology. These include a Perrhaebian father of Dia who was killed by Ixion, the father of Nisus of Megara, an Oechalian prince said to be a son of Eurytus, and one of the sons of Heracles by Megara.