Alopê was in Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

 a mortal woman, the daughter of Cercyon

Cercyon

Cercyon - Κερκύων was a figure in Greek mythology. He was the King of Eleusis, and a very strong man. According to the different versions, he was the son of:*Poseidon and one of the daughters of Amphictyon, or...

, known for her great beauty. Poseidon

Poseidon

Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...

, in the guise of a kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...

, seduced Alope, his granddaughter through Cercyon, and from the union she gave birth to Hippothoon

Hippothoon

Hippothoon or Hippothous is a figure in Greek mythology, often described as the King of Eleusis after the death of Cercyon; however, Theseus was sometimes said to have taken the throne from Cercyon after his death....

. Alope left the infant in the open to die of exposure

Infanticide

Infanticide or infant homicide is the killing of a human infant. Neonaticide, a killing within 24 hours of a baby's birth, is most commonly done by the mother.In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...

, but a passing mare suckled the child until it was found by shepherds, who fell into a dispute as to who was to have the beautiful royal attire of the boy. The case was brought before Cercyon, who, on recognizing by the dress whose child the boy was, ordered Alope to be imprisoned in order to be put to death, and her child to be exposed again. The latter was fed and found in the same manner as before, and the shepherds called him Hippothoon. The body of Alope was changed by Poseidon into a spring, which bore the same name.

The town of Alope, in Thessaly

Thessaly

Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....

, was believed to have derived its name from her, where, however, Philonides speaks of an Alope as a daughter of Actor

Actor (mythology)

Actor is a very common name in Greek mythology. Here is a selection of characters that share this name :...

. There was a monument of Alope on the road from Eleusis to Megara

Megara

Megara is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King...

, on the spot where she was believed to have been killed by her father.