Cyrène (mythologie)
In Greek mythology, Cyrene (saɪˈriːni ) or Kyrene (kaɪˈriːni ; Kyrēnē), was a Thessalian princess, and later, the queen and ruler of the North African city of Cyrene in Libya. According to the myth, the city was founded and named after her by Apollo. As recorded in Pindar's ninth Pythian ode, Cyrene was the daughter of Hypseus, king of the Lapiths, and the naiad Chlidanope. According to Apollonius Rhodius, she also had a sister called Larissa. Cyrene's other sisters were Themisto, Alcaea and Astyagyia. By the god Apollo, she bore Aristaeus and Idmon. Aristaeus became the god of animal husbandry, bee-keeping and cheese making. Idmon became a famed seer. Apollonius Rhodius states that the couple also had another son called Autuchus. By the god Ares, she bore Diomedes. He later became a king in the Greek country of Thrace. The affair started with Cyrene fighting Ares, then later "marrying" him. They stayed together for many months and she gave birth to Diomedes. She returned to Africa only to find Apollo waiting for her. He makes her a naiad and she lived for a long time and is eternally living here as some legends say she is still here. Cyrene was a Thessalian princess, the daughter of Hypseus. She was a fierce huntress, called by Nonnus, a "deer-chasing second Artemis, the girl lionkiller" and "a champion in the leafy forest with lionslaying hands". In Thesmophoriazusae (written by Aristophanes) Mnesilochus comments that he "can't see a man there at all - only Cyrene" when setting eyes upon the poet Agathon who has dressed in women's clothing and accessorised himself with male and female attributes. She was a companion of goddess Artemis, who had given her two hunting dogs. With the help of these dogs, Cyrene had been able to win the prize in the funeral games of Pelias. Pindar describes her in his Pythian Ode:And by Hypseus was reared this maid, Cyrene of the lovely arms. But she loved not the pacing tread this way and that beside the loom, nor the delights of merry feasts with her companions in the household.
