Psamathe (daughter of Crotopus)
mythical daughter of Crotopus
In Greek mythology, Psamathe (Ancient Greek: Ψαμάθη, romanized: Psamáthē, lit. 'sand-goddess' or 'goddess of sand') was the daughter of King Crotopus of Argos, who became the lover of the god Apollo.
Mythology
According to the Narrations of the mythographer Conon, Psamathe became pregnant by Apollo, and abandoned the newborn boy, Linus, for fear of her father. A shepherd reared the foundling, but the child was one day torn apart by the shepherd's dogs. In the interim, Psamathe was ordered to be killed by her father. Apollo avenged her murder by sending a plague to Argos. When consulted, Apollo demanded that Psamathe and Linus be propitiated with due honors and festivities. The Argives complied but the plague persisted. And by oracular decree, the king was forced to leave in order to found the city of Tripodiscium near Megara, where he would live out his life.
In an alternate version (Pausanias), Psamathe exposed the unnamed child, which was torn apart by the king's sheepdogs. Apollo then sent Poena (Greek: Poinē), the personification of punishment, upon the city.
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