Carme (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Carme (/ˈkɑːrmi/; Ancient Greek: Κάρμη, romanized: Karmē, lit. 'she who cuts the grain', 'shearer' or 'crop') was the mother of the Cretan goddess Britomartis by Zeus.^[1]^[2]

Family

Carme was either the daughter of Euboulus, the son of the Cretan priest Carmanor and a god revered in mystery religions,^[3] or the daughter of Phoenix (son of Agenor)^[1] and Cassiopeia^[4]. She therefore may have been either of Cretan or Phoenician origin.

Mythology

Like other members of her family, Carme may have been an agricultural or harvest demigoddess. In various myths her potential father Euboulus was associated with Demeter, Persephone, grain, and swine.^[5] Some tellings additionally refer to him as the son of Demeter.^[6] Chrysothemis, sister of Euboulus, may have been a harvest demigoddess as well.^[3]

Notes

^ ^a ^b Pseudo-Clement, Recognitions 10, p. 123, ll. 43-44
^ Tripp, p. 150 s.v. Carme; Grimal, p. 89 s.v. Carme; Cook, p. 190; Smith, s.v. Carme
^ ^a ^b Pausanias, 2.30.3. Compare with Diodorus Siculus, 5.76.3, which says that Euboulus was the son of Demeter.
^ Antoninus Liberalis, 40 (Celoria, p. 100). Compare with Appendix Vergiliana, Ciris 220.
^ J.G. Frazer, The Golden Bough: Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild (London, 1912), vol. 2, p. 19 online. Frazer appears not to have made use of the inscriptional evidence pertaining to Eubuleus.
^ Diodorus Siculus, 5.76.3

References

Celoria, Francis, The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis: A Translation with a Commentary, Routledge 1992. ISBN 978-0-415-06896-3.
Cook, Arthur Bernard, Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion, Volume II: Zeus God of the Dark Sky (Thunder and Lightning), Part I: Text and Notes, Cambridge University Press 1925. Internet Archive
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Volume III: Books 4.59-8. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. Loeb Classical Library No. 340. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1939. ISBN 978-0-674-99375-4. Online version by Bill Thayer
Grimal, Pierre, The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Wiley-Blackwell, 1996. ISBN 978-0-631-20102-1.
Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. ISBN 0-674-99328-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Tripp, Edward, Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology, Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). ISBN 069022608X.
Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). Online version at the Perseus Digital Library

External links

CARME from the Theoi Project

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[:1-1] Pseudo-Clement, Recognitions 10, p. 123, ll. 43-44

[2] Tripp, p. 150 s.v. Carme; Grimal, p. 89 s.v. Carme; Cook, p. 190; Smith, s.v. Carme

[:0-3] Pausanias, 2.30.3. Compare with Diodorus Siculus, 5.76.3, which says that Euboulus was the son of Demeter.

[4] Antoninus Liberalis, 40 (Celoria, p. 100). Compare with Appendix Vergiliana, Ciris 220.

[5] J.G. Frazer, The Golden Bough: Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild (London, 1912), vol. 2, p. 19 online. Frazer appears not to have made use of the inscriptional evidence pertaining to Eubuleus.

[6] Diodorus Siculus, 5.76.3

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