Lélape

In Greek mythology, Lélape or Laelaps (in ancient Greek Λαῖλαψ Lailaps, 'storm wind') was a dog that always He caught his prey when hunting. It was a gift that Zeus made to Europa and that later came into the possession of his son Minos; He gave this to Procris and later the dog became the property of Cephalus. In another version, the dog was given to Procris by Diana. In another version of Greek mythology, Laelapus was a fast dog that the goddess Diana had given to the young Cephalus, who loved hunting. One day during the hunt, Laelapo was turned into stone by the gods, his posture being so natural that he seemed to be about to jump.

Version of Antoninus Liberal and Apollodorus

According to the works of Pseudo-Apollodorus and that of Antoninus Liberal, the dog was a gift from Minos to Procris.

Minos had the problem of ejaculating snakes, scorpions and spiders that devoured the genitals of his lovers. Procris managed to help him by inserting a goat's bladder into the vagina of Pasiphae, Minos's wife. Thus, Minos put the vermin into the bladder and then he could perform the sexual act with Pasiphae. In Apollodorus' version, Procris gave Minos a concoction so that nothing would harm her and then slept with him. In exchange for this help, Minos gave Procris the dog Lélape and a javelin that never missed its target.

Version of Hyginus and Ovid

On the other hand, in the versions collected by Ovid and Hyginus, the dog was given to Procris by Diana.

The paradox

Cephalus, Procris' husband, later obtained the dog and the javelin and decided to use the dog to hunt the Teumesian fox, which could never be caught. This caused a paradox: a dog that always caught its prey and a fox that could not be caught. The chase continued for some time until Zeus, perplexed by their contradictory destinies, transformed both animals into stone, although Lélape was also said to have been catasterized in the constellation of Canis Major.