KLYMENE

KLYMENE (or Clymene) was the Titan goddess of renown, fame and infamy. She was one of the elder Okeanides, wife of the Titan Iapetos, mother of the Titanes Prometheus and Atlas and the ancestress of all mankind. Like the Titan-wives she was probably an earth-goddess, her name bringing to mind "Klymenos," a common euphemistic title of the god Haides.

Klymene was also named Asia, and in this guise portrayed as the eponymous goddess of the region of Anatolia (i.e. Asia Minor). It should be noted that it was only later that geographers applied this name to the continent.

Klymene was also depicted as a handmaiden of the goddess Hera. In the vase-painting right she stands beside Hera at the judgement of Paris, and probably symbolises the fame of rulership which Hera promises the prince in return for the golden apple.

Asia-Klymene was frequently confounded with Asia-Hesione the wife of Prometheus. It is also unlikely that she was ever identified with the nymph Klymene loved by the god Helios, despite their common name and parentage.