IXION, in the Greek Mythology, was the king of the Lapithæ, and the father of Pirithous. When Deioneus, whose daughter Dia he had married, demanded the usual bridal gifts, Ixion, under pretence of paying him, invited him to a feast, and arranged so that he fell into a pit of fire. For this treacherous murder Ixion was shunned by everybody, until Jupiter, taking pity on him, invited him to his table. Instead of showing gratitude for this kindness, however, he strove to wile away the affections of Juno. Jupiter, in indignation, chained him by the hands and feet to a winged wheel, and condemned him to roll round upon it eternally.
1 The method of obtaining sal ammoniac from the waste products of the destructive distillation of coal is described under GAS LIGHT.