| Leucothoe | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Apollo_Caressing_The_Nymph_Leucothea_-_Antoine_Boizot.jpg) Apollo (as the Sun) caressing the Nymph Leucothea, by Antoine Boizot | |
| Abode | Persia, Boeotia or Andros |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Orchamus and Eurynome |
| Siblings | Clytie (one version) |
| Consort | Helios |
| Children | Thersanon |
In Greek mythology Leucothoe (Ancient Greek: Λευκοθόη, from λευκός, "white", and θοός, "quick, swift") was a Babylonian princess. The daughter of Orchamus, a king of Persia, Leucothoe was either a lover of the sun god Helios or a victim of rape. A nymph or Leucothoe's own sister named Clytie, who loved Helios and was jealous of Leucothoe, informed Leucothoe's father that Leucothoe, despite being unmarried, was no longer a virgin, whereupon Orchamus buried his daughter alive in punishment. Helios then transformed Leucothoe's dead body into a frankincense tree.
The tale is best known from the Augustan poet Ovid's narrative poem Metamorphoses, in which the fullest account of it survives, although references and allusions to Leucothoe's story survive in other sources as well.