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Orphne

In Greek mythology, Orphne was a nymph that lived in Hades. She was also known as Styx or Gorgyra. With Acheron, she mothered Ascalaphus.

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Jul 4, 2026

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In Greek mythology, Orphne (/ˈɔːrfniː/ ORF-nee; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφνή, romanized: Orphnḗ, from ὄρφνη, órphnē, 'darkness') was a nymph that lived in Hades. She was also known as Styx (/stɪks/ STIKS; Στύξ, Stýx) or Gorgyra (/ɡɔːrˈdʒaɪrə/ gor-JY-rə; Γόργυρα, Górgȳra, from γόργυρα, górgȳra, 'underground drain').¹ With Acheron, she mothered Ascalaphus.²

Orphne also seems to be one translation of the name of the Roman goddess Caligo (Darkness).³

Notes

Notes

Fontenrose, p. 287.
Fontenrose, p. 287; Apollodorus, 1.5.3; Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.539–41.
Fontenrose, p. 223.

References

References

Apollodorus, Apollodorus. The Library, Volume I: Books 1-3.9, translated by James G. Frazer, Loeb Classical Library No. 121, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1921. ISBN 978-0-674-99135-4. Online version at Harvard University Press. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy (1959), Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins, University of California Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-520-04091-5. Google Books.
Ovid, Metamorphoses, edited and translated by Brookes More, Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co., 1922. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Online version at ToposText.