In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Apemosyne was a daughter of Catreus

Catreus

In Greek mythology, Catreus was a king of Crete and a son of Minos and Pasiphaë. He had one son, Althaemenes, and three daughters, Apemosyne, Aerope and Clymene. An oracle told Catreus that one of his children would murder him. Terrified he would do so, Althaemenes took Apemosyne and left Crete...

 and sister of both Althaemenes

Althaemenes

Althaemenes or Althemenes was in Greek mythology a son of Catreus, the king of Crete. He was also the brother of Apemosyne, Aerope and Clymene. An oracle told Catreus that he would be murdered by one of his children...

, Aerope

Aerope

Aërope was a name attributed to two distinct figures in Greek mythology.-Wife of Atreus:Aërope was a daughter of Catreus, king of Crete, and granddaughter of Minos. Her father, who had received an oracle that he should lose his life by one of his children, gave her and her sister, Clymene, to...

 and Clymene

Clymene

Clymene or Klymenê may refer to*104 Klymene, an asteroid*Clymene dolphin , a dolphin endemic to the Atlantic Ocean*Clymene Moth*In Greek mythology:...

. She was known for being fleet of foot. According to legend, an oracle

Oracle

In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....

 told Catreus that he would be murdered by one of his children; to prevent this from happening, he sent his children away from Crete. Apemosyne and her brother Althaemenes

Althaemenes

Althaemenes or Althemenes was in Greek mythology a son of Catreus, the king of Crete. He was also the brother of Apemosyne, Aerope and Clymene. An oracle told Catreus that he would be murdered by one of his children...

 left Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

 for Rhodes

Rhodes

Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...

. Here, Hermes

Hermes

Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...

developed a passion for her, but could not catch her, despite his winged sandals. To catch her, he laid freshly stripped hides along the road, and Apemosyne slipped and fell on her way back from a spring. While she was down, Hermes raped her. Later, when she told her brother what had happened, he doubted her and became angry, thinking that she was lying about being molested by the god. In his anger, he kicked her to death.