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In Greek mythology, Comaetho (Ancient Greek: Κομαιθώ, romanized: Komaithṓ) is a queen of Cilicia who fell in love with the local river-god Cydnus. The goddess Aphrodite then transformed her into a spring, and the queen was acquatically joined with her beloved for the rest of time.

Family

The fifth-century poet Nonnus describes Comaetho as a daughter of Cydnus, though elsewhere he simply describes her as his lover.^[1] Like Cydnus, now known as the Berdan River, Comaetho was from Cilicia, a region located in southern Asia Minor. Comaetho is both described as a mortal woman and a Naiad nymph.

Mythology

The maid Comaetho ruled over the Cilicians. As she approached marriage age, the girl fell in love with the river-god Cydnus and pined for him until the goddess Aphrodite turned her into a spring, presumably in order to unite the two.^[2]^[3] Thereafter Comaetho was glad to join him in wedlock and mingle her newly-formed waters with those of Cydnus.^[1]^[4]

Background

The earliest attestment for this story comes from a Parthenius fragment, preserved by Eustathius of Thessalonica who is in turn quoted by Stephanus of Byzantium; in this case the story would be the earliest example of a full metamorphosis into a body of sweet water.^[3]

The myth might have arisen as a geographical, aetiological narrative in order to describe a spring near Glaphyrae, a town in Cilicia, and thus could be traced back to Parthenius's own Metamorphoses work.^[4] Some doubts have been cast over this assertment, as it is most likely that that work was written in hexameters.^[5]

The story of Comaetho has been compared to that of the river-god Alpheus and the nymph Arethusa, owing to their shared theme of contrast of the water and the fire of love.^[3] It also bears similarities with another fragmentary text by Parthenius regarding the story of Byblis; both myths feature maidens sufffering from their incestuous passions, if Cydnus is taken to be Comaetho's father.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Nonnus, Dionysiaca 2.143, 40.141
^ Parthenius frag 28 [= Eustathius On the Iliad 2.712.]
^ ^a ^b ^c Forbes Irving 1990, p. 307.
^ ^a ^b ^c Klooster 2012, pp. 319–321.
^ Parthenius frag 28, footnote 28 by Stephen Gaselee.

Bibliography

Forbes Irving, Paul M. C. (1990). Metamorphosis in Greek Myths. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-814730-9.
Klooster, Jacqueline J.H. (2012). ""εις έπη και ελεγείας ανάγειν": the Erotika Pathemata of Parthenius of Nicaea" (PDF). In Baumbach, M.; Bär, S. (eds.). Brill's companion to Greek and Latin epyllion and its reception. Brill's companions in classical studies. Leiden: Brill Publications. ISBN 9789004214323.
Nonnus, Dionysiaca; translated by Rouse, W H D, I Books I-XV. Loeb Classical Library No. 344, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1940. Internet Archive
Nonnus, Dionysiaca; translated by Rouse, W H D, III Books XXXVI-XLVIII. Loeb Classical Library No. 346, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1940. Internet Archive.
Parthenius of Nicaea in Hellenistic Collection: Philitas. Alexander of Aetolia. Hermesianax. Euphorion. Parthenius. Edited and translated by J. L. Lightfoot. Loeb Classical Library 508. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010.