1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Plutus

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search

PLUTUS, in Greek mythology, son of Iasion and Demeter, the personification of wealth (πλοῦτος). According to Aristophanes, he was blinded by Zeus because he distributed his gifts without regard to merit. At Thebes there was a statue of Fortune holding the child Plutus in her arms; at Athens he was similarly represented in the arms of Peace; at Thespiae he was represented standing beside Athena the Worker. Elsewhere he was represented as a boy with a cornu copiae. He is the subject of one of the extant comedies of Aristophanes, the Plutus.