Karpos

In Greek mythology, Karpos (/ˈkɑːrpɒs/; Ancient Greek: Καρπός : Karpós; Latin: Carpus, literally "fruit"), was a youth renowned for his beauty. He is the son of Zephyrus (Ζέφυρος : Zéphyros), the west wind) and Chloris (Χλωρίς : Chlōrís, spring, or new vegetation), forming a natural metaphor—the west wind heralds the new growth of spring, which then bears fruit.

Karpo, one of the Horae, is the feminine equivalent of Karpos; her dominion being the fruits of the earth.

Greek mythology

The story, told in Nonnus's Dionysiaca, tells about the love of two youths, Karpos and Kalamos, son of Maiandros (god of the Maeander river). Karpos drowned in the Meander river while the two were competing in a swimming contest and in his grief, Kalamos allowed himself to also drown. He was then transformed into a water reed, whose rustling in the wind was interpreted as a sigh of lamentation, while Karpos was became 'the fruit of the earth'.^[1]

Etymology

The word Karpos derives from the Proto-Indo-European language root *kerp-.^[2] Cognates can be found in many Indo-European languages including modern English in words such as "harvest" (via Germanic), "carpet", "excerpt" and "scarce" (via Latin).

References

External links

0.00 (0 votes)