Carpho

This article is about the Horae. For the Daemon of fruit, see Karpos.

Carpo
Hora-Carpophore (Season-Bearer of Fruit), 1st century AD
Goddess of Fruition and Horae of Autumn
General Information
Species	Goddess/Horae
Gender identity	Female
Aliases	Carpophore Carpho Karpo Xarpo
Relationships
Parents	Jove and Themis (Hyginus)
Siblings	Auxo and Thallo Orthosia, Pherusa, and Euporia
Languages
Hellēnikḗ(Ancient Greek)	Καρπώ
Equivalents
Greek equivalent	Damia

Carpo or Karpo, or Carpophore (Ancient Greek: Καρπώ, from καρπῶν (karpōn) 'to bear fruit') is the Greek goddess of fruition. She is one of the Horae.

Karpo was worshipped in Athens alongside the goddesses Auxo (Growth) and Hegemone (Leader).

Myths & Legends

Carpo was the one who brings food and was in charge of autumn, ripening, and harvesting, as well as guarding the way to Mount Olympus and letting back the clouds surrounding the mountain if one of the gods left.

She was an attendant to Persephone, Aphrodite, and Hera, and was also associated with Dionysus, Apollo, and Pan.

Karpo (Fruiting) was probably originally just a title of Demeter as the goddess of the earth's fruits, just as Auxo (Growth) was a title of Persephone as the goddess of spring growth, and Hegemone (Leader) was a title of Artemis or Hekate as leader of the processions the Mysteries.

Sources

There are only two sources that mention the Horae Karpo, both form the second century AD. They are from the Greek traveler Pausanias and the Roman mythographer Hyginus (or perhaps Pseudo-Hyginus).

Pausanias:

“	The Boeotians say that Eteocles was the first man to sacrifice to the Graces. Moreover, they are aware that he established three as the number of the Graces, but they have no tradition of the names he gave them. The Lacadaemonians, however, say that the Graces are two, and that they were instituted by Lacedaemon, son of Taygete, who gave them the names of Cleta and Phaenna. These are appropriate names for Graces, as are those given by the Athenians, who from of old have worshipped two Graces, Auxo and Hegemone. Carpo is the name, not of a Grace, but of a Season (Hora). The other Season is worshipped together with Pandrosus by the Athenians, who call the goddess Thallo.	”
–Pausanias, Description of Greece 9. 35. 1-2

Hyginus:

“	The names of the Horae, daughters of Jove, son of Saturn, and Themis, daughter Titanidis, are these: Auxo, Eunomia, Pherusa, Carpo, Dike, Euporia, Eirene, Orthosia, Thallo.	”
–Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 183

Gallery

Hora-Carpophore (Season-Bearer of Fruit), 1st century AD

Agroikis (Carpo) holding a basket of fruit, Greco-Roman floor mosaic, Church of the Virgin Mary, Madaba. 6th century AD

Detail of Agroikis (Carpo) holding a basket of fruit

Horae Carpo by Peter Nixon c. 2012