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Clytie, a MythSource painting
Greek

Clytie

The Oceanid · Daughter of Oceanus · The Heliotrope

01Identity

Clytie in Greek tradition

When Helios abandoned Clytie for Leucothoe, her accusation led Orchamus to bury his daughter alive. Helios transformed Leucothoe's grave into frankincense, while Clytie wasted away watching the Sun and became a pale flower that turns towards him across the sky. Clytie is a Greek being, an Oceanid and daughter of Oceanus, also called Clytia and the Heliotrope.

Top questions

The quick answers

02Family

Clytie’s family, at a glance

OceanusTethys
Clytie
03The names

The names Clytie answers to

Clytia

Variant spelling of Clytie

SourceClassical Mythology a to Z

The Oceanid

A water nymph descended from Oceanus

SourceBullfinch Mythology - The Age of Fable

The Heliotrope

The flower into which Clytie was transformed

SourceBullfinch Mythology - The Age of Fable

04The myths

The myths of Clytie

1 myth, with sources recorded for each.

Clytie and Helios

Helios entered the chamber where Leucothoe sat among her attendants, spinning by candlelight. He sent the maidens away and declared his love for her. When he revealed his radiant divine form, Leucothoe was overcome with fear. She made no outcry and remained silent before him. Helios then abandoned Clytie, the Oceanid daughter of Oceanus, and transferred his affection to Leucothoe, daughter of Orchamus, king of the eastern countries.

Clytie, angered by his rejection, told Orchamus about his daughter’s attachment to Helios. Orchamus punished Leucothoe by burying her alive. Helios grieved over her death and tried by every means to restore her. When these efforts failed, he sprinkled the grave and the body with heavenly nectar. The corpse melted into the earth, which filled with a sweet scent. A shoot of frankincense grew from the grave and rose above it.

Clytie gained nothing from her action. Helios did not return to her. Overcome by grief, she lay upon the ground and refused food. For nine days she watched Helios cross the heavens, keeping her face turned towards him. She gradually wasted away, until her limbs were fixed in the earth and her body changed into a pale plant. Its flower remained turned towards the Sun, following the god whose love she had once possessed.

Clytie and Helios, a MythSource painting of the scene

3 sources· checked 2026-08-19

  1. 1Greek Myths & TalesT1
  2. 2Ovid, MetamorphosesT1

    Quote

    “Clytie, spurned by the Sun, betrayed Leucothoe to her father, who buried her, and after nine days of gazing at Helios, she was changed into a flower that follows his course.”

    Ovid, Metamorphoses

  3. 3Shakespeare's Ovid, being Arthur Golding's translation of the MetamorphosesT1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Clytie, each on that figure’s page.