Clytia
Oceanid nymph who pined for Helios and was transformed into the heliotrope flower
The Myth of Clytia
Clytia was a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys who fell desperately in love with the sun god Helios. When Helios turned his affections to the mortal princess Leucothoe, Clytia grew consumed with jealousy and revealed the affair to Leucothoe's father Orchamus, who buried his daughter alive as punishment. Rather than winning back the sun god's love, Clytia's betrayal only deepened his hatred of her. She sat naked upon the rocks for nine days without food or water, her gaze fixed upon the sun as it crossed the sky. At last the gods took pity and transformed her into the heliotrope, the flower that forever turns its face to follow the sun.
Parents
Oceanus and Tethys
Symbols
Fun Fact
The sunflower's habit of turning to face the sun is poetically attributed to Clytia's endless longing
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Clytie
🌿 nymphtransformation
Ocean nymph who loved Helios so desperately that she sat watching him cross the sky until she transformed into a heliotrope flower.
Clymene
🌿 nymphfame, ocean
Oceanid nymph and mother of Phaethon and the Heliades.
Aegle
🌿 nymphlight, healing
A nymph whose name means "radiance" — identified variously as a Hesperid, a daughter of Asclepius, or the most beautiful of the Naiads.
Perseis
🌿 nymphWitchcraft, sun
Oceanid nymph and mother of the sorceress Circe and King Aeetes of Colchis
Callisto
🌿 nymphNymph transformed into the Great Bear
Callisto was a companion of Artemis who was seduced by Zeus and transformed into a bear — placed in the sky as Ursa Major, the Great Bear constellation.
Salmacis
🌿 nymphdesire
Water nymph of Caria whose desperate embrace of Hermaphroditus caused the gods to fuse them into a single dual-sexed being.
Galatea
🌿 nymphSea nymph loved by a Cyclops
Galatea was a Nereid loved by the Cyclops Polyphemus — but she loved the mortal Acis.
Thetis
🌿 nymphSea nymph mother of Achilles
Thetis was a sea nymph so powerful that both Zeus and Poseidon desired her — until a prophecy warned her son would surpass his father.
Herse
🌿 nymphdew, Athens
An Athenian princess (sometimes classed as a nymph of the dew) who was loved by Hermes and bore him Cephalus.
Ianthe
🌿 nymphViolet flowers, spring
Oceanid nymph associated with violet-colored blossoms and the beauty of spring meadows
Coronis
🌿 nymphlove, betrayal
A Thessalian nymph or princess beloved by Apollo, whose infidelity led to the birth of Asclepius, god of medicine.
Cyane
🌿 nymphsprings, grief
A Sicilian water nymph who tried to stop Hades from abducting Persephone and dissolved into her own spring from grief.