User:Douglas Coldwell/Sandboxes/25

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses of Metabus, see Metabus (disambiguation)

In Roman mythology, King Metabus of the Volsci was the father of Camilla. His wife was Casmilla, who died giving birth to Camilla. Metabus named the child "Camilla" in honor of her mother "Casmilla" (with the name being very similar, missing only the letter "s" ).

King Metabus was driven from his kingdom by the rebellious Privernates. He could not take anything with him except his baby child. Driven from his throne, Metabus was chased into the wilderness by armed Volsci, his infant daughter in his hands. The river Amasenus blocked his path, and, fearing for the child's welfare, Metabus wrapped her in the bark of cork and tied her to a spear to be thrown to the other side. He promised Diana that Camilla would be her servant, a warrior virgin, if she reached the other side safely. He then threw her to the other side and swam across to retrieve her. She had arrived uninjured safely in good condition. Metabus then hid out in the forest and raised her on the milk of wild beasts.

[edit] References

• Giovanni Boccaccio’s Famous Women translated by Virginia Brown 2001, pp. 76-77; Cambridge and London, Harvard University Press; ISBN 0-674-01130-9

[Category:Roman mythology]]