Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Cerambus (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Κέραμβος, ''Kerambos''), a son of Euseiros (himself son of

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

) and the

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

Eidothea of Othreis.

Mythology

Cerambus was a survivor of

Deucalion In Greek mythology, Deucalion (; ) was the son of Prometheus; ancient sources name his mother as Clymene (mythology), Clymene, Hesione (Oceanid), Hesione, or Pronoia (mythology), Pronoia.A Scholia, scholium to ''Odyssey'' 10.2 (=''Catalogue of W ...

's flood by means of wings which he received from the

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

. These wings had raised him above the water thus escaping death. He dwelt in the land of the Melians on the spurs of Mount

Othrys Mount Othrys ( – ''oros Othrys'', also Όθρη – ''Othri'') is a mountain range of central Greece, in the northeastern part of Phthiotis and southern part of Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia. Its highest summit, ''Gerakovouni'', situated on ...

and owned a large herd of cattle. In another myth, Cerambus was renowned as the greatest singer of his time. He was credited with inventing the shepherd's pipes, as well as with introducing

lyre The lyre () (from Greek λύρα and Latin ''lyra)'' is a string instrument, stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the History of lute-family instruments, lute family of instruments. In organology, a ...

-playing and composing a number of delightful rural songs. This was why the

of Mount Othrys favored him, and even became visible to him as he was playing his lyre. The honors, however, made Cerambus arrogant to the point of insanity: when Pan advised him to drive his cattle down to the plain, due to an extremely severe winter being expected, Cerambus wouldn't listen to him as though smitten by some god. Moreover, he went so far in his insolence that he told insulting and mindless tales of the nymphs, claiming that they were descended not from

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

, but from

Spercheios The Spercheios (, ''Sperkheiós''), also known as the Spercheus from its Latinization of names, Latin name, is a river in Phthiotis in Central Greece (geographic region), central Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . It was worshipped a ...

and the

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who embodied ...

Deino, and that when Poseidon fell for one of the nymphs, Diopatra, he changed her sisters into poplar trees, but restored their original shape after satisfying his desires. The nymphs were angry and transformed Cerambus into a wood-gnawing beetle '' Cerambyx (''κεράμβυξ)''.'' A short while later there came a sudden frost and the streams froze. This was the beginning of the severe winter Pan predicted. The cattle all perished from the cold, as did the trees. "The Cerambyx beetle can be seen on trunks and has hook-teeth, ever moving his jaws together. It is black, long, and has hard wings like a great dung beetle and is called the ox that eats wood. Boys use him as a toy, cutting off his head, to wear as a pendant. The head looks like the horns of a lyre made from a tortoiseshell."

Antoninus Liberalis Antoninus Liberalis () was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between the second and third centuries AD. He is known as the author of ''The Metamorphoses'', a collection of tales that offers new variants of already familiar myths ...

22
/ref>

Notes

References

, ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992)
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859–1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
{{Metamorphoses in Greco-Roman mythology Fictional musicians Metamorphoses into arthropods in Greek mythology Insects in culture Characters in Greek mythology

Mythology

See also

Notes

References