Clymene
A woman, perhaps Clymene, leaning against Helios (far right) in a Phaethon sarcophagus
Other names	Merope
Abode	Aethiopia
Genealogy
Parents	Oceanus andTethys
Siblings	theOceanids, theriver gods
Consort	Helios,Merops
Children	Phaethon, theHeliades,Astris

InGreek andRoman mythology,Clymene orKlymene (/ˈklɪmɪniː,ˈklaɪ-/;^[1][2]Ancient Greek:Κλυμένη,romanized: Kluménē,lit. 'renowned') is anOceanidnymph who was loved by the sun-godHelios and became the mother by him ofPhaethon and theHeliades.^[3] In most versions, Clymene is the one to reveal to Phaethon his divine parentage and encourage him to seek out his father, and even drive his solar chariot to catastrophic results.

The Greek proper nameΚλυμένη (Kluménē) is the feminine form ofΚλύμενος (Klúmenos), meaning "famous".^[4] In turn,κλύμενος derives from the verbκλύω, meaning 'to hear, to understand', itself from theProto-Indo-European root*ḱlew-, which means 'to hear'.^[5] It thus shares the same root and meaning as "Clytie", another Oceanid nymph whom Helios loved.

Clymene is one of the three hundred Oceanid nymph daughters of the TitansOceanus andTethys.^[6] Although she shares name and parentage withClymene, the wife ofIapetus, who is also a daughter ofOceanus andTethys (and thus one of her sisters), she is nevertheless distinguished from her.^[7]

In another version, attributed to the pseudo-Hesiodic workCatalogue of Women, Clymene is the mortal daughter ofMinyas, who married Helios and had Phaethon by him. Alternatively, she marriedPhylacus, the son ofDeion, and bore himIphiclus, a very swift son.^[8]

Byzantine writerJohn Tzetzes recorded an alternative genealogy where Clymene is the mother of a boy named Phaethon by Helios, but not the Phaethon who drove his father's chariot (who is instead the son of a woman named Prote).^[9]

Euripides wrote a version ofPhaethon's story that does not survive in full. In Euripides'version of the tale, Clymene was given as wife toMerops, the king ofAethiopia, as a bride. Although everyone assumes that Merops is the father of her son Phaethon, his father is really Helios.^[10]

And Euripides in his Phaeton says that Clymene was given

“To Merops, sovereign of that land,
Which from his four-horsed chariot first
The rising sun strikes with his golden rays;
And which its swarthy neighbours call
The radiant stable of theMorn andSun.”

Here the poet merely describes them as the common stables of the Morning and of the Sun; but further on he tells us they were near to the dwellings of Merops, and in fact the whole plot of the piece has reference to this.^[11]

According to the hypothesis, Clymene revealed to her son Phaethon that he was the child of Helios, rather than her husband Merops. It has been suggested that Clymene made this revelation to Phaethon in order to overcome his reluctance to get married; the greatest problem of the fragmentary plot is to confirm the identity of Phaethon's bride.Henri Weil suggested it is one of Phaethon's half-sisters, theHeliades, andJames Diggle noted that while this suggestion is unprovable, he is convinced that it is correct.^[12]

After Phaethon's disastrous ride, near the end Clymene mourns her son, and orders slave girls to bring Phaethon's dead, still smoking body in the palace and hide it from Merops, while lamenting Helios' role in his demise.^[13]Plutarch reports that she mourned her son's death saying:

My best beloved, but now he lies
And putrefies in some dark vale.^[14]

Another fragment, of uncertain position in the play, also preserved by Plutarch, has Clymene state she loathes the handy horned bow, and youths' pastime exercises, as they remind her of her son.^[15]

Near the end, Merops, now knowing the truth about his supposed son's parentage, tries to retaliate against Clymene by killing her^[16] as the chorus tells Clymene to plead with her fatherOceanus to save her from perishing;^[17] it is unclear whether Clymene survives thanks to anex machina intervention by a god, as well as that god's exact identity, whether it is Oceanus indeed trying to save his daughter, Helios or evenAthena.^[16]

Like Euripides's version of the story, inOvid's Clymene is the wife ofMerops and also the mother ofPhaethon and theHeliades byHelios. Phaethon is proud to be the son of the sun god, but his claim is mocked and questioned by his friendEpaphus, the son ofZeus andIo. Phaethon asks for confirmation of his parentage from his mother, who tells him to seek for Helios himself.

By that brightness marked out by glittering rays, that sees us and hears us, I swear to you, my son, that you are the child of theSun; of that being you see; you are the child of he who governs the world; if I lie, may he himself decline to look on me again, and may this be the last light to reach our eyes! It is no great effort for you yourself to find your father’s house. The place he rises from is near our land. If you have it in mind to do so, go and ask the sun himself!^[18]

Phaethon follows his mother's advice and travels east, past Aethiopia and India, to meet Helios. His father warmly receives him, confirming his parentage, and Phaethon asks as a favour to drive Helios' chariot for one day, and Helios, not being able to go back on his word he swore on the riverStyx, agrees. The results are catastrophic; the earth burns when Phaethon drives too close to it, and freezes when he drives too high. Zeus, wanting to save the world, strikes Phaethon with a thunderbolt, killing him. Clymene, in deep grief, searches out to find her son's body, or at the very least his bones, only to find out he has already been buried by theEridanus, the river he fell into.^[19] When her daughters begin to transform into black poplar trees, they call out to her for help, and though Clymene tries to free them by breaking off the branches, she ultimately fails, and the transformation is completed.^[20]

Sometime later, afterAphrodite cursed Helios to fall in love with the mortal princessLeucothoe, he is said to have forgotten all his previous lovers, Clymene included.^[21]

InNonnus' version of the story,Helios and Clymene fell in love with each other and got married, with the blessing of Clymene's fatherOceanus. Their wedding was attended by theHorae,Naiad nymphs who danced around, the lights of the sky such as Helios' sisterSelene andEosphorus (the planetVenus), theHesperides, and Clymene's family.

For her beauty Helios pined, Helios who spins round the twelvemonth lichtgang, and travels the sevenzone circuit garland-wise — Helios dispenser of fire was afflicted with another fire! The torch of love was stronger than the blaze of his car and the shining of his rays, when over the bend of the reddened Ocean as he bathed his fiery form in the eastern waters, he beheld the maiden close by the way, while she swam naked and sported in her father's waves.^[22]

Soon, Clymene fell pregnant and a son was born to the couple, whom Helios namedPhaethon ("shining") after himself. When the boy grew up, he kept pestering his father to let him drive his chariot for one day; Clymene joined her son in that, until eventually Helios gave in and gave his chariot to Phaethon, with horrifying results. Clymene watched with joy and pride as Phaethon climbed his father's chariot.^[23]

Nonnus also made Clymene the mother of Helios' daughterAstris (who is not counted among theHeliades),^[24] although elsewhere Nonnus names another Oceanid,Ceto, as Astris' mother.^[25]

Hyginus records another version ofPhaethon's parentage, which he attributes toHesiod; according to him, Phaethon was the son of an Oceanid named Merope andClymenus (a reversal of the usual names Merops and Clymene), who is the son ofHelios by an unnamed mother,^[26][27] thus making Helios and Phaethon grandfather and grandson. The attribution to Hesiod however is highly contested, and mostly doubted.^[28]

In hisDialogues of the Gods, the satirical writerLucian ofSamosata mentions that Clymene along with Phaethon pressured Helios to lend his chariot to the boy,^[29] and that sometimes Helios lingers with Clymene, forgetting to drive his chariot.^[30] A passage fromGreek anthology also mentions Helios visiting Clymene in her room.^[31]

Other authors that make Clymene the mother of Phaethon includeHyginus^[32] andServius.^[33]

The Themistianasteroid104 Klymene was named after the many women called Clymene in Greek mythology, Phaethon's mother included.^[34]

• Rhodos
• Perse
• Semele

• The translation and reconstruction of Euripides' "Phaethon" made by Vlanes is now available as ebook on Amazon:[1]
• CLYMENE at greekmythology.com
• CLYMENE at The Theoi Project

• Metamorphoses characters
• Oceanids
• Queens in Greek mythology
• Women of Helios
• Princesses in Greek mythology

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text