Ixion went mad, defiled by his act; the neighboring princes were so offended by this act of treachery and violation of xenia that they refused to perform the rituals that would cleanse Ixion of his guilt. Thereafter, Ixion lived as an outlaw and shunned. By killing his father-in-law, Ixion was reckoned the first man guilty of kin-slaying in Greek mythology. That alone would warrant him a terrible punishment.

However, Zeus had pity on Ixion and brought him to Olympus and introduced him at the table of the gods. Instead of being grateful, Ixion grew lustful for Hera, Zeus’s wife, a further violation of guest-host relations. Zeus found out about his intentions and made a cloud in the shape of Hera, which became known as Nephele (nephos “cloud”) and tricked Ixion into coupling with it. From the union of Ixion and the false-Hera cloud came Centauros, who mated with the Magnesian mares on Mount Pelion, Pindar told, engendering the race of Centaurs, who are called the Ixionidae from their descent.

Ixion was expelled from Olympus and blasted with a thunderbolt. Zeus ordered Hermes to bind Ixion to a winged fiery wheel that was always spinning. Therefore, Ixion is bound to a burning solar wheel for all eternity, at first spinning across the heavens, but in later myth transferred to Tartarus. Only when Orpheus played his lyre during his trip to the Underworld to rescue Eurydice did it stop for a while. “The details are very odd, the narrative motivation creaks at every juncture,” observes Robert L. Fowler; “the myth smacks of aetiology.” He notes that Martin Nilsson suggested an origin in rain-making magic, with which he concurs: “In Ixion’s case the necessary warning about the conduct of magic has taken the form of blasphemous and dangerous conduct on the part of the first officiant.”.

Ixion was a figure also known to the Etruscans, for he is depicted bound to the spoked wheel, engraved on the back of a bronze mirror, ca 460-450 BCE, in the British Museum. Whether the Etruscans shared the Ixion figure with Hellenes from early times or whether Ixion figured among those Greek myths that were adapted at later dates to fit the Etruscan world-view, the figure on the mirror-back is shown as winged, a characteristic shared with Etruscan daimones and Underworld figures rather than human heroes.

Ixion by Jules-Elie Delaunay

Ixion was the nom-de-plume of Canon Basil Henry Davies. Davies wrote motorcycle articles for The Motorcycle from 1903-1961. Dave Masters, keen vintage motorcycle collector and author of a book about Velocette bikes, says: “What he wrote is the only direct evidence of what it’s like to be a vintage motorcyclist at the turn of the century. He is the word.” Canon Davies wrote, under the pseudonym Ixion, in many leading motorcycling magazines as well as his own books, but also served as vicar at St Barnabas Church for 14 years from 1926-1940. His name is on the list of incumbents still on display at the church. Dave said: “He was as famous as Murray Walker became to Formula One and Jeremy Clarkson is to motoring now. The difference being neither his name nor face was known publicly.”

Ixion’s prodigious output has formed a priceless collection of motorcycle vignettes from the earliest days of motorcycling to the 60s. Sadly his record is largely forgotten these days even among vintage bike aficianados. His book Motorcycle Cavalcade should be on everyone’s bookshelf. One hopes Cannon Davies will become more well known as the value of his writing is recognised. A move has commenced for a British heritage plague to be raised at the Church he served in Bexhill – St Barnabas. I do hope that this does occur.

Basil Henry Davies was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, on 29 June 1879. He was educated at Manchester, then Clifton College and Lincoln College, Oxford, receiving a BA 3rd class in 1901, then a 4th class Hons. in Theology in the same year. It was at Oxford that he became interested in motorcycles. He was ordained in 1903 and by 1904 was on the committee of The Motor Cycling Club and honorary editor of its gazette. As was usual for the clergy, he moved around the country, being involved in several dioceses and beginning his career as a deacon in south London (church of St. Mary, Newington, Surrey, 1903-09.) It was at this time that he began to write for The Motor Cycle. He then moved to northeast England (St. Mary’s, Esh, County Durham), deep in the Durham coalmining region, and had a congregation of 8000 miners in four nearby churches to minister. In 1906 he set a 6-day long-distance record covering 1279 ½ miles on a single speed Triumph. In 1907, his work led him to Northampton (St. Sepulchre). There he married an American lady who was later to provide him with 6 children (4 girls and 2 boys). He also became president of the Northamptonshire Motorcycle Club. In 1910, pressures of work and ailing health led him to a quiet parish in Cornwall (St. Wenn, 1916-21). He recovered enough to serve in the Royal Flying Corps from 1917-19, and also helped found the Scottish Six Days Trial and was a gold medallist in this and the English version during this period. After the war, he moved to Sussex (Lodworth, 1921-26, and St. Barnabas, Bexhill, 1926-40). He retired from active clergy life, becoming an emeritus Canon, due to heart problems in 1940. Throughout this time and for the next 20 years, his “Occasional Comments,” appeared weekly in The Motor Cycle, and his intuitive wit, his special talent with the choice word or phrase, and his deep enthusiasm for the pastime, delighted many thousands of British motorcyclists. Aside from this, he also wrote books and articles on bridge and cricket. His heart condition prevented him prevented him from competing in motorcycling events, but he still rode a lot, writing annual “What I Rode” articles for the magazine. Arthur Bourne, who went under the pseudonym of Torrens and was for many years its editor, stated in the article from with much of this information is gleaned, that Ixion’s favourite machines were Scotts. Ixion held many firsts in the world of motorcycle journalism. For example, in 1926, his was the first broadcast of a speedway meeting from Stamford Bridge. In 1927 he made the first TT broadcast, dashing across to Liverpool to do so. After this and for the next 30 years, he wrote articles for almost every International TT. His two books on motorcycling, Reminiscences and Cavalcade, both offer excellent insight into the pursuit and draw from his personal experience. He always suffered from his heart and eventually succumbed to it peacefully on 23 March 1961, aged 81. His final column appeared in the magazine on that day.