Aristaeus (or Aristaios) is the god of cheesemakers, beekeepers, and rural crafts.
History[]
Early life[]
Aristaeus was born to god Apollo and the legendary warrior Cyrene. When he was born, Hermes fed him nectar and Gaea gave him immortality.
The nymphs taught Aristaeus beekeeping, cheese making and many other crafts. He decided to pass on his knowledge and skills to humanity.
Tale of Orpheus[]
Aristaeaus tried to get the romantic attention of the nymph Eurydice, but she got married to the musician Orpheus. Aristaeaus followed her into a forest during her honeymoon and ran while asking her to marry him. This caused that Eurydice to run away and accidentally get bitten by a snake. Aristaeaus didn't want to accept the blame so he ran away.
However, Eurydice's sisters learned of Aristaeus's role in their sister's death and decided to take revenge by killing their bees and destroying their honeycombs. Aristaeus, desperate for not wanting to lose his bees, went to his mother Cyrene to ask what he could do to calm the anger of those nymphs so that they would stop torturing him.
Cyrene advised him to go see Proteus, who told him that he would have to sacrifice 6 animals, 5 cows to the nymphs and a black lamb for Orpheus. Following the instructions, Aristaeus made the sacrifices and his bees began to recover.
Marriage[]
Aristaeaus married Autonoe, daughter of the hero and King Cadmus of Thebes. They had two children: a son named Actaeon and a daughter named Macris.