Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Arceophon was a wealthy man of Salamis in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, son of Minnyrides, a

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

Mythology

Arceophon fell in love with Arsinoe, daughter of King Nicocreon of Salamis (a descendant of

Teucer In Greek mythology, Teucer (), also Teucrus, Teucros or Teucris ( grc, Τεῦκρος, Teûkros), was the son of King Telamon of Salamis Island and his second wife Hesione, daughter of King Laomedon of Troy. He fought alongside his half-bro ...

), and wooed her, but Nicocreon refused to give his daughter to Arceophon because of the latter's Phoenician descent. Arceophon was upset and began to come to Arsinoe's house by night, hoping to win her heart, but in vain. He then tried to bribe Arsinoe's nurse so that she might arrange for them to meet, but Arsinoe reported this to her parents, who cut off the nurse's tongue, nose and fingers and drove her out of their house. Having lost every hope, Arceophon committed suicide. The fellow citizens grieved at his death and buried him with honors. When Arsinoe leaned out of the window to take a look at the funeral ceremony,

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...

turned her into stone. Antoninus Liberalis, 39 The story of Arceophon and Arsinoe is comparable to that of

Iphis In Greek and Roman mythology, Iphis or Iphys ( , ; grc, Ἶφις ''Îphis'' , gen. Ἴφιδος ''Ī́phidos'') was a child of Telethusa and Ligdus in Crete, born female and raised male, who was later transformed by the goddess Isis into a man ...

and Anaxarete.

Note

Reference

Antoninus Liberalis, ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992)
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
{Greek-myth-stub Characters in Greek mythology