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 of ...

, Clymene or Klymene (; grc, Κλυμένη, ''Kluménē'') was the name of an

Oceanid In Greek mythology, the Oceanids or Oceanides (; grc, Ὠκεανίδες, Ōkeanídes, pl. of grc, Ὠκεανίς, Ōkeanís, label=none) are the nymphs who were the three thousand (a number interpreted as meaning "innumerable") daughters o ...

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

loved by the

sun god A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. T ...

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the deity, god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyper ...

and the mother by him of Phaethon and the

Heliades In Greek mythology, the Heliades (Ancient Greek: Ἡλιάδες means 'daughters of the sun') also called Phaethontides (meaning "daughters of Phaethon") were the daughters of Helios and Clymene, an Oceanid nymph. Names According to one v ...

. In most versions, Clymene is the one to reveal to Phaethon his divine parentage and encourage him to seek out his father, and even drive his solar chariot.

Etymology

(''Kluménē'') is the feminine form of (''Klúmenos''), meaning "famous". It thus shares the same root and meaning as " Clytie", another Oceanid nymph whom Helios loved.

Family

Clymene is one of the three hundred Oceanid daughters of

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus (; grc-gre, , Ancient Greek pronunciation: , also Ὠγενός , Ὤγενος , or Ὠγήν ) was a Titans (mythology), Titan son of Uranus (mythology), Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethy ...

and Tethys. Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'
4.19
/ref> Although she shares name and parentage with Clymene, the wife of Iapetus, who is also a daughter of

and Tethys (and thus one of her sisters), she is distinguished from her.

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

writer

John Tzetzes John Tzetzes ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who is known to have lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He was able to pr ...

recorded an alternative genealogy where Clymene is the mother of a boy named Phaethon by Helios, but not the Phaethon who drove his father's chariot (who is instead the son of a woman named Prote).

Mythology

Euripides' account

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

wrote a version of Phaethon's story that does not survive in full. In Euripides' version of the tale, Clymene was given as wife to

Merops MEROPS is an online database for peptidases (also known as proteases, proteinases and proteolytic enzymes) and their inhibitors. The classification scheme for peptidases was published by Rawlings & Barrett in 1993, and that for protein inhibi ...

, the king of Aethiopia, as a bride; her son Phaethon however is the product of her illicit liaison with Helios, although she claimed that it was her lawful husband who fathered him and all her children.Gantz, p
31–32
/ref>

And Euripides in his Phaeton says that Clymene was given
“To Merops, sovereign of that land,
Which from his four-horsed chariot first
The rising sun strikes with his golden rays;
And which its swarthy neighbours call
The radiant stable of the Morn and Sun.”
Here the poet merely describes them as the common stables of the Morning and of the Sun; but further on he tells us they were near to the dwellings of Merops, and in fact the whole plot of the piece has reference to this.

According to the hypothesis, Clymene revealed to her son Phaethon that he was the child of Helios, rather than her husband Merops. It has been suggested that Clymene made this revelation to Phaethon in order to overcome his reluctance to get married; the greatest problem of the fragmentary plot is to confirm the identity of Phaethon's bride.

Henri Weil Henri Weil (August 27, 1818 – November 5, 1909) was a French philologist. Biography Born to a Jewish family in Frankfurt, he was educated at the universities of Bonn, Berlin, and Leipzig. He went to France, and continued his studies at Pa ...

suggested it is one of Phaethon's half-sisters, the

, and James Diggle noted that while this suggestion is unprovable, he is convinced that it is correct. After Phaethon's disastrous ride, near the end Clymene mourns her son, and orders slave girls to bring Phaethon's dead, still smoking body in the palace and hide it from Merops, while lamenting Helios' role in his demise.

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ...

reports that she mourned her son's death saying:

My best beloved, but now he lies
And putrefies in some dark vale.

Another fragment, of uncertain position in the play, also preserved by Plutarch, has Clymene state she loathes the handy horned bow, and youths' pastime exercises, as they remind her of her son. Near the end, Merops, now knowing the truth about his supposed son's parentage, tries to retaliate against Clymene by killing herCollard and Cropp, p
202
/ref> as the chorus tells Clymene to plead with her father

to save her from perishing; it is unclear whether Clymene survives thanks to an ex machina intervention by a god, as well as that god's exact identity, whether it is Oceanus indeed trying to save his daughter, Helios or even

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

Ovid's account

Clymene_Urging_Phaeton_to_Find_Helios_LACMA_M

Like Euripides's version of the story, in

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the ...

's Clymene is the wife of

and also the mother of Phaethon and the

. Phaethon is proud to be the son of the sun god, but his claim is mocked and questioned by his friend Epaphus, the son of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...

and Io. Phaethon asks for confirmation of his parentage from his mother, who tells him to seek for Helios himself.

By that brightness marked out by glittering rays, that sees us and hears us, I swear to you, my son, that you are the child of the Sun; of that being you see; you are the child of he who governs the world; if I lie, may he himself decline to look on me again, and may this be the last light to reach our eyes! It is no great effort for you yourself to find your father’s house. The place he rises from is near our land. If you have it in mind to do so, go and ask the sun himself!

Phaethon follows his mother's advice and travels east, past Aethiopia and India, to meet Helios. His father warmly receives him, confirming his parentage, and Phaethon asks as a favour to drive Helios' chariot for one day, and Helios, not being able to go back on his word he swore on the river Styx, agrees. The results are catastrophic; the earth burns when Phaethon drives too close to it, and freezes when he drives too high. Zeus, wanting to save the world, strikes Phaethon with a thunderbolt, killing him. Clymene, in deep grief, searches out to find her son's body, or at the very least his bones, only to find out he has already been buried by the Eridanus, the river he fell into. When her daughters begin to transform into black poplar trees, they call out to her for help, and though Clymene tries to free them by breaking off the branches, she ultimately fails, and the transformation is completed. Sometime later, after

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion (emotion), passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman god ...

cursed Helios to fall in love with the mortal princess Leucothoe, he is said to have forgotten all his previous lovers, Clymene included.

Nonnus' account

Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis ( grc-gre, Νόννος ὁ Πανοπολίτης, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century CE) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Theb ...

' version of the story,

and Clymene fell in love with each other and got married, with Clymene's father

' blessing. Their wedding as attended by the

Horae In Greek mythology the Horae () or Horai () or Hours ( grc-gre, Ὧραι, Hōrai, , "Seasons") were the goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time. Etymology The term ''horae'' comes from the Proto-Indo-European ("year"). ...

Naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who ...

nymphs who danced around, the lights of the sky such as Helios' sister Selene and Eosphorus (the planet

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

), the

Hesperides In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (; , ) are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They were also called the Atlantides () from their reputed father, the Titan Atlas ...

, and Clymene's family.

For her beauty Helios pined, Helios who spins round the twelvemonth lichtgang, and travels the sevenzone circuit garland-wise — Helios dispenser of fire was afflicted with another fire! The torch of love was stronger than the blaze of his car and the shining of his rays, when over the bend of the reddened Ocean as he bathed his fiery form in the eastern waters, he beheld the maiden close by the way, while she swam naked and sported in her father's waves.

Soon Clymene fell pregnant, and a son was born to the couple, whom Helios named Phaethon ("shining") after himself. When the boy grew up, he kept pestering his father to let him drive his chariot for one day; Clymene joined her son in that, until eventually Helios gave in and gave his chariot to Phaethon, with horrifying results. Clymene watched with joy and pride as Phaethon climbed his father's chariot. Nonnus also made Clymene the mother of Helios' daughter Astris (who is not counted among the

), although elsewhere Nonnus names another Oceanid,

Ceto Ceto (; grc, Κητώ, Kētṓ, sea monster) is a primordial sea goddess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Pontus and his mother, Gaia. As a mythological figure, she is considered to be one of the most ancient deities, and bore a host o ...

, as Astris' mother.

Other authors

Hyginus records another version of Phaethon's parentage, which he attributes to

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

; according to him, Phaethon was the son of an Oceanid named Merope and

Clymenus In Greek mythology, Clymenus (; grc, Κλύμενος, Klúmenos} means "notorious" or "renowned") may refer to multiple individuals: *Clymenus, a son of Phoroneus by either Cerdo or Teledice In Greek mythology, Teledice (Ancient Greek: Τηλε ...

(a reversal of the usual names Merops and Clymene), who is the son of

by an unnamed mother, thus making Helios and Phaethon grandfather and grandson. In his '' Dialogues of the Gods'', the satirical writer

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed superstiti ...

Samosata Samsat ( ku, Samîsad), formerly Samosata ( grc, Σαμόσατα) is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Greek anthology also mentions Helios visiting Clymene in her room. Other authors that make Clymene the mother of Phaethon include

Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Gramma ...

and Servius. Servius, ''Commentary on

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

'
10.189
/ref>

Genealogy

Notes

References

* Collard Christopher, Cropp Martin, Lee Kevin H., ''Euripides: Selected Fragmentary Plays: Volume I'', Oxbow Books,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, 1995, . *

, ''Fragments: Oedipus-Chrysippus. Other Fragments. Edited and translated by Christopher Collard, Martin Cropp.''

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann_(publisher), Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works ...

506. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009. *

, ''

Theogony The ''Theogony'' (, , , i.e. "the genealogy or birth of the gods") is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contain ...

'', with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*

. ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

, Volume I: Books 1-8''. Translated by Frank Justus Miller. Revised by G. P. Goold.

No. 42. Cambridge, Massachusetts:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the reti ...

, 1977, first published 1916.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''

.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius
''The Myths of Hyginus''
Edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960. *

, ''

Moralia The ''Moralia'' ( grc, Ἠθικά ''Ethika''; loosely translated as "Morals" or "Matters relating to customs and mores") is a group of manuscripts dating from the 10th–13th centuries, traditionally ascribed to the 1st-century Greek scholar Plu ...

''. 16 vols. (vol. 13: 13.1 & 13.2, vol. 16: index), transl. by Frank Cole Babbitt (vol. 1–5) et al., series: "

" (LCL, vols. 197–499). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press et al., 1927–2004. * Strabo, ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*

, '' Dialogues of the Gods''; translated by Fowler, H W and F G. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. 1905. *

, ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' {{IPAc-en, ˌ, d, aɪ, ., ə, ., n, ᵻ, ˈ, z, aɪ, ., ə, ., k, ə ( grc-gre, Διονυσιακά, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surv ...

''; translated by Rouse, W H D, III Books XXXVI–XLVIII.

No. 346, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1940
Internet Archive
*

Maurus Servius Honoratus Servius was a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian. He earned a contemporary reputation as the most learned man of his generation in Italy; he authored a set of commentaries on the works of Virgil. These works, ''In tria Virg ...

, ''In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii;'' recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* The Greek Anthology. with an English Translation by. W. R. Paton. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1916. 1
Full text available at topostext.org
* Tzetzes, John, ''Book of Histories,'' Book II-IV translated by Gary Berkowitz from the original Greek of T. Kiessling's edition of 1826
Online version available at Theoi.com
* Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). * Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004,
Google Books
* Diggle, James, ''Euripides: Phaethon'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambr ...

, Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries, Series Number 12, 1970, .

External links

* The translation and reconstruction of Euripides' "Phaethon" made by Vlanes is now available as ebook on Amazon

CLYMENE at greekmythology.com

{{Authority control Metamorphoses characters Greek sea goddesses Greek goddesses Nymphs Oceanids Sea and river goddesses Characters in Greek mythology Queens in Greek mythology Women of Helios Women in Greek mythology

Etymology

Family

Mythology

Euripides' account

Ovid's account

Nonnus' account

Other authors

Genealogy

See also

Notes

References

External links