NEPHELE IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY

​Nephele was a cloud nymph in Greek mythology, created by Zeus to test the character and loyalty of the mortal king Ixion. Her story is closely linked to one of the most infamous acts of impiety in Greek myth and explains the origins of the centaurs. 

​The Crafting of Nephele

​The story of Nephele occurs when Ixion, former king of the Lapiths was a guest of Mount Olympus. 

​Ixion had been purified for the crime of killing his father-in-law, Deioneus, by Zeus, for no mortal king would cleanse Ixion of such a heinous act. 

Ixion though, showed his gratitude by undertaking an of the greatest impiety. Ixion was taken by the beauty of Hera, the wife of Zeus, and so decided to either seduce the goddess, or force himself upon her. Hera reported the actions of Ixion to her husband. 

Zeus was reluctant to believe that a guest of Mount Olympus would act in such a manor, and so Zeus decided to test Ixion. 

Using a cloud as his medium, Zeus would sculpt an exact likeness of Hera, and the supreme god of the Greek pantheon brought it to life. This cloud was called Nephele, which means “cloud” or “cloudy”.

Ixion was fooled by the doppelgänger, and lay with Nephele, believing the cloud to be Hera. Not content with just laying with “Hera”, Ixion then also boasted about it.

​Zeus now was convinced of the impiety of Ixion, and so Ixion was sentenced to eternal punishment, bound to a fiery wheel for all time. 

​Nephele After Ixion

​Zeus could not unmake his creation, and so Nephele lived on, she was though pregnant by Ixion, and subsequently Nephele would give birth to the centaurs, the half-man, half-horse creatures; Pindar says that Nephele with just one child, the monstrous Centaurus, who became the father of the centaurs. 

Afterwards, some say that Nephele became the wife of Athamas, although it is more probable that this was a second Nephele, potentially one of the Oceanids. 

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Colin Quartermain - Nephele - 7th June 2026