Ganymede

Ganymede, the cup-bearer of Zeus, was, according to Homer, the son of King Tros and the nymph Callirrhoe; or, according to others, of Laomedon, Ilus, or Erichthonius. The most beautiful of mortals, he attracted the notice of the king of the gods, who determined to make him his cup-bearer in succession to Hebe, and accordingly despatched his eagle to carry him off to heaven. The Greeks believed that Zeus gave Tros a pair of divine horses as a compensation for his loss, and comforted him at the same time by informing him that Ganymede had become immortal and free from all earthly ills. At a later period he was identified with the divinity who presided over the sources of the Nile. The Greek astronomers likewise placed him among the stars, under the name of Aquarius ('the water-bearer'), in allusion to his celestial function. Ganymede was a favourite subject of ancient art, and in modern time has prompted the genius of Carstens and Thorwaldsen.