Carya (daughter of Dion)
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, Carya was a daughter of the Laconia
n king Dion
and Amphithea
, daughter of Pronax
. Her sisters were Lyco and Orphe. Apollo
, in reward for Dion and Amphithea receiving him with great reverence and hospitality, bestowed a gift of prophecy upon their daughters, but imposed a restriction that they should not betray gods nor search after forbidden lore.
Later, Dionysus
also paid a visit to Dion's house and was received with equal hospitality; during his stay, he fell in love with Carya and lay with her secretly. He then left but, missing Carya, soon returned under pretext of consecrating a temple which Dion had built for him. But Lyco and Orphe, suspecting a love affair between Dionysus and their sister, guarded Carya to prevent her from having intercourse with the god. By doing so they committed a violation of the restrictions imposed by Apollo, so Dionysus, after several warnings and threats, drove the two sisters mad, in which state they ran off to Mount Taygetus
, where they were transformed into rocks. Carya was changed by Dionysus into a walnut tree (Greek
karya). From these circumstances later arose the local cult of Artemis
Caryatis
.
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, Carya was a daughter of the Laconia
Laconia
Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...
n king Dion
Dion (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Dion was a King in Laconia and husband of Amphithea, the daughter of Pronax. Apollo, who had been kindly received by Dion and Amphithea, rewarded them by conferring upon their three daughters, Orphe, Lyco, and Carya, the gift of prophecy, on condition, however, that they should...
and Amphithea
Amphithea
Amphithea is the name of four women in Greek mythology:1. Amphithea, wife of Lycurgus, king of Nemea, and mother of Opheltes . Also known as Eurydice....
, daughter of Pronax
Pronax
In Greek mythology, Pronax is the son of Talaus and Lysimache, and brother of Adrastus. The Nemean Games are supposed to have been instituted in his honour....
. Her sisters were Lyco and Orphe. Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
, in reward for Dion and Amphithea receiving him with great reverence and hospitality, bestowed a gift of prophecy upon their daughters, but imposed a restriction that they should not betray gods nor search after forbidden lore.
Later, Dionysus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
also paid a visit to Dion's house and was received with equal hospitality; during his stay, he fell in love with Carya and lay with her secretly. He then left but, missing Carya, soon returned under pretext of consecrating a temple which Dion had built for him. But Lyco and Orphe, suspecting a love affair between Dionysus and their sister, guarded Carya to prevent her from having intercourse with the god. By doing so they committed a violation of the restrictions imposed by Apollo, so Dionysus, after several warnings and threats, drove the two sisters mad, in which state they ran off to Mount Taygetus
Taygetus
Mount Taygetus, Taugetus, or Taigetus is a mountain range in the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece. The name is one of the oldest recorded in Europe, appearing in the Odyssey. In classical mythology, it was associated with the nymph Taygete...
, where they were transformed into rocks. Carya was changed by Dionysus into a walnut tree (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
karya). From these circumstances later arose the local cult of Artemis
Artemis
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
Caryatis
Caryatis
In ancient Greek religion Artemis Caryatis was an epithet of Artemis that was derived from the small polis of Karyai in Laconia; there an archaic open-air temenos was dedicated to Carya, the Lady of the Nut-Tree, whose priestesses were called the caryatidai, represented on the Athenian Acropolis as...
.