Demophoon/Definition

From Greek mythology, the son of Metaneira who has the goddess Demeter, in disguise, serving as the boy's nanny; the goddess tries to immortalize the baby boy by burning him in the fire, but Metaneira interferes; the goddess, in anger, throws the baby down, the boy dies soon afterwards. This myth points to the huge inequality between gods and humans. Source: Elizabeth Vandiver, Classics scholar, authority on Greek mythology and Greek tragedy, including the Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Homer, and Virgil. This definition is based on her course Classical Mythology for The Teaching Company.