Helike (moon)

Helike (/ˈhɛlᵻkiː/ HEL-ə-kee; Greek: Ελίκη), also known as Jupiter XLV, is a moon of Jupiter. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard in 2003, and given the temporary designation S/2003 J 6.

Helike is about 4 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 20.54 million kilometres in 601.402 days, at an inclination of 155° to the ecliptic (156° to Jupiter's equator), in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.1375. Its average orbital speed is 2.48 km/s.

It was named in March 2005 after Helike, one of the nymphs that nurtured Zeus (Jupiter) in his infancy on Crete.

Helike belongs to the Ananke group, retrograde irregular moons which orbit Jupiter between 19.3 and 22.7 million kilometres, at inclinations of roughly 150°.

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Helike

Helike (/ˈhɛlᵻkiː/; Greek: Ἑλίκη, pronounced [heˈlikɛː], modern Greek pronunciation: [eˈliki]) was an ancient Greek city that was submerged by a tsunami in the winter of 373 BC. It was located in Achaea, northern Peloponnesos, two kilometres (12 stadia) from the Corinthian Gulf and near the city of Boura, which, like Helike, was a member of the Achaean League. Modern research attributes the catastrophe to an earthquake and accompanying tsunami which destroyed and submerged the city. In an effort to protect the site from destruction, the World Monuments Fund included Helike in its 2004 and 2006 List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.

History

Helike was founded in the Bronze Age, becoming the principal city of Achaea. The poet Homer states that the city of Eliki participated in the Trojan War with one ship. Later, following its fall to the Achaeans, Eliki led the Achaean League, an association that joined twelve neighboring cities in an area including today's town of Aigion. Eliki, also known as Dodekapolis (from the Greek words dodeka meaning twelve and polis meaning city), became a cultural and religious center with its own coinage. Finds from ancient Eliki are limited to two 5th-century copper coins, now housed in the Staatliches Museum, Berlin. The obverse shows the head of Poseidon, the city's patron, and the reverse his trident. There was a temple dedicated to the Helikonian Poseidon.

Helike (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Helike (/ˈhɛlᵻkiː/; Greek: Ἑλίκη, pronounced [heˈlikɛː], modern Greek pronunciation: [eˈlici]) was a name of several women. One was a nymph and one was a Queen of Chios.

List of Helikes

Zeus’ nurse

Helike nurtured god Zeus in his infancy on Crete.

Her name suggests that she was a "willow-nymph", just as there were oak-tree nymphs and ash-nymphs (Dryads and Meliae).

It is likely that she is the same as Ide.

Ursa Major

Helike was in antiquity a common proper name for the constellation Ursa Major.

Queen

Queen Helike was a wife of King Oenopion of Chios and their children were:

Wife of Ion

This Helike was a wife of a man called Ion and mother of woman called Bura.

Ion built the city and named it after his wife. They were wed by Selinus.

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