_ADVERTISEMENT_
_‘IXION, King of Thessaly, famous for its horses, married
Dia, daughter of Deioneus, who, in consequence of his son-
in-law’s non-fulfilment of his engagements, stole away some
of the monarch’s steeds. Ixion concealed his resentment
under the mask of friendship. He invited his father-in-law
to a feast at Larissa, the capital of his kingdom; and when
Deioneus arrived according to his appointment, he threw him
into a pit which he had previously filled with burning
coals. This treachery so irritated the neighbouring princes,
that all of them refused to perform the usual ceremony, by
which a man was then purified of murder, and Ixion was
shunned and despised by all mankind. Jupiter had compassion
upon him, carried him to Heaven, and introduced him to the
Father of the Gods. Such a favour, which ought to have
awakened gratitude in Ixion, only served to inflame his bad
passions; he became enamoured of Juno, and attempted to
seduce her. Juno was willing to gratify the passion of
Ixion, though, according to others,’ &c.--Classical
Dictionary, art. ‘Ixion.’_