In Greek mythology, Carme (; ) was the mother of the Cretan goddess Britomartis by Zeus.Pseudo-Clement, Recognitions 10, p. 123, ll. 43-44Tripp, p. 150 s.v. Carme; Grimal, p. 89 s.v. Carme; Cook, p. 190; Smith, s.v. Carme
Family Carme was either the daughter of Euboulus, the son of the Cretan priest Carmanor and a god revered in mystery religions,Pausanias, 2.30.3. Compare with Diodorus Siculus, 5.76.3, which says that Euboulus was the son of Demeter. or the daughter of Phoenix (son of Agenor) and CassiopeiaAntoninus Liberalis, 40 (Celoria, p. 100). Compare with Appendix Vergiliana, Ciris 220.. 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.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. Some tellings additionally refer to him as the son of Demeter.Diodorus Siculus, 5.76.3 Chrysothemis, sister of Euboulus, may have been a harvest demigoddess as well.
Notes
References Celoria, Francis, The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis: A Translation with a Commentary, Routledge 1992. . 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. . Online version by Bill Thayer Grimal, Pierre, The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Wiley-Blackwell, 1996. . 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. . 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). . 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