Camma ( grc, Κάμμα) was a

Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (c ...

n princess and priestess of Artemis whom Plutarch writes about in both ''On the Bravery of Women'' and the ''Eroticus'' or ''Amatorius''. As Plutarch is our only source on Camma, her historicity cannot be independently verified. In both works, Plutarch cites her as an exemplar of fidelity and courage in love. In Plutarch's accounts, Camma was wedded to the tetrarch Sinatus, and became known and admired for her virtue and beauty. Sinatus' rival, another tetrarch named Sinorix, murdered Sinatus and proceeded to woo Camma herself. Rather than submit to Sinorix' advances, Camma took him to a temple of Artemis where she served poison to both herself and him in a libation of either milk and

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

mead Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...

. Camma died happily, according to Plutarch, in the knowledge that she had avenged the death of her husband. Plutarch. ''De Mulierum Virtutibus'' 20, in the '' Moralia''
English translation published online by Bill Thayer.
/ref> Plutarch's story of Camma inspired a number of works of later art and literature. Polyaenus briefly reprises Plutarch's tale in his 2nd-century CE ''Stratagems of War''. Polyaenus, ''Stratagems'
VIII.39.1
/ref> In the Renaissance, the story of Camma enjoyed considerable popularity, inspiring ''De re uxoria'' by Barbaro, ''De institutione feminae christianae'' by Vives, the ''Libro del cortegiano'' by Castiglione, and ''

Orlando furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was no ...

'' by Ariosto (where Camma is renamed Drusilla). Thomas Corneille wrote a play named ''Camma'' (1661) about the story of the Galatian princess. The opera ''

Nephté ''Nephté'' is an opera by the French composer Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opéra) on 15 December 1789. It takes the form of a ''tragédie lyrique'' in three acts. The libretto, by François- ...

'' (1789) by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne uses the story of Camma but moves the setting to Ancient Egypt. Tennyson subsequently wrote the tragedy ''The Cup'' (1884), in which Camma is again a Galatian princess. The poem ‘Camma’ by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

has been seen as a hedonistic commentary on Plutarch's Camma.

References

Literature

* * * Galatian people Celtic women Ancient priestesses Ancient princesses 1st-century BC women Artemis People whose existence is disputed {{noble-stub