Tradition / Region: Greek Mythology
Alternative names: Alcathoe, Leucippe (Leuconoe), Arsippe (Arsinoë, Aristippe)
Category: Bat
The Myth
The Minyades were the three daughters of King Minyas of Orchomenus. While the other women of Boeotia celebrated the rites of Dionysus, the sisters refused to honor the god. Instead, they remained at home, weaving and tending to their daily tasks, believing their work to be more important than the sacred festival.
Offended by their refusal, Dionysus appeared before them disguised as a young maiden and invited them to join his mysteries. When they ignored him, he revealed his divine power, transforming first into a bull, then a lion, and finally a leopard. At the same time, miraculous signs filled their home as milk and nectar flowed from their looms.
Driven mad by the god’s punishment, the sisters cast lots to determine who should make a sacrifice. The lot fell upon Leucippe, whose son Hippasus was torn to pieces by the three women as an offering to Dionysus. Consumed by divine frenzy, they abandoned their home and wandered through the mountains like Bacchantes.
At last, Hermes took pity on them and transformed the sisters into flying creatures. In the most common version of the myth, all three became bats, forever avoiding the light of the sun. Other traditions say that one became a bat, another an owl, and the third an eagle owl, but all remained creatures of the night as a lasting reminder of the punishment for rejecting Dionysus.
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Minyades. In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minyades.