Cyrene is a Nymph. According to Greek mythology, she was born a Princess of Thessaly and later became the queen and ruler of Cyrene, a North African city by her eventual husband, Apollo.
Genealogy and Family[]
According to Pindar, she is the mortal daughter of Hypseus, King of the Lapiths and the Naiad, Chlidanope but other accounts name the river god Peneus as her father and call her a Nymph. She had four sisters, Themisto, Larissa, Alcaea and Astyagyia. Her husband was the sun god, Apollo, with whom she had two sons, Aristaeus and Idmon.
Stories[]
The sun god, Apollo once saw Cyrene, wrestle a lion, that attacked her father's sheep, and admired her bravery and skills. He became enamoured with and fell in love with her, but wondered if it was okay for him to take her as his bride, so he consulted Chiron on the matter and after getting his approval, carried Cyrene away to North Africa in his golden car. After Apollo made her the queen of the fertile and rich land, Aphrodite welcomed them both. In North Africa, Apollo founded the city Cyrene in the region of Cyrenaica, both named after Cyrene and she had two sons with the sun god: Aristaeus, the god of beekeeping, and Idmon, the Argonaut seer. Another son, Autuchus is also mentioned by Apollonuis of Rhodes.
Role and Significance[]
Trivia[]
Her Greek name is Κῡρήνη.
The meaning of her name is 'sovereign queen'.