Cyrene

Cyrene (Κυρήνη) was the daughter of Hypseus, a Lapith king in Thessaly. Cyrene was renowned for her beauty and strength. Cyrene was probably an attendant of Artemis, and she was renowned for her skill in hunting. She was hunting in the region of Mount Pelion when Apollo fell in love with Cyrene, when he saw her wrestle with a lion.

Apollo spirited the nymph across the sea to Libya where the god seduced her. Cyrene bore a son named Aristaeüs (Aristaeus), who became a minor agricultural god, and Idmon, who was a warrior seer and an Argonaut. Apollo gave Cyrene a long life as compensation for taking her son away.

In Libya, she was said to have founded a city called Cyrene. She was the subject of Pindar’s ode (Pythian IX).

See House of the Lapiths for the family tree.