Apemosyne

In Greek mythology, Apemosyne was a Cretan princess as the daughter of King Catreus of Crete, the son of Minos. She had a brother Althaemenes, and two sisters, Aerope and Clymene.
==Mythology==
According to Apollodorus, Catreus received an oracle saying that he would be killed by one of his children, and although Catreus hid the oracles, his son Althaemenes found out. Fearing that he would be the one to kill Catreus, Althaemenes took Apemosyne and fled with her to Rhodes.
There, Hermes fell in love with Apemosyne, but Apemosyne fled from him. Hermes could not catch her as she was faster than him. On her way back from a spring, Apemosyne slipped on freshly skinned hides that Hermes had laid across her path. Hermes then caught and raped her. Later, when Apemosyne told her brother what had happened, he became angry, thinking she was lying about being molested by a god. In his anger, he kicked her to death.
==Interpretation==
Arthur Bernard Cook saw in the myth of Apemosyne a historical elemental reflecting the relationship between Minoan Crete and Rhodes, as well as a possible etiological aspect explaining an ancient Rhodian custom involving human sacrifice.
==See also==
*Io
*Aerope
*Pasiphaë
Category:Princesses in Greek mythology
Category:Consorts of Hermes
Category:Mythological rape victims
Category:Rhodian mythology
Category:Cretan characters in Greek mythology