Campe
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, Campe or Kampê ( "crooked"; confer καμπή "a twist, a bend") is the name of a chthonic
female monster
(drakaina
).
with a woman's head and torso and a scorpion
-like tail. Nonnus
, in Dionysiaca
(18.23-264) gives the most elaborated description of her. Joseph Eddy Fontenrose suggests that for Nonnus Campe is a Greek refiguring of Tiamat
and that "she is Echidna
under another name, as Nonnos indicates, calling her Echidnaean Enyo, identifying her snaky legs with Echidna's," and "a female counterpart of his Typhon
".
Campe was set by Cronus
to guard the Hecatonchires
and Cyclopes
in Tartarus
after Cronus didn't release them from their imprisonment there when they were imprisoned by Uranus
. She was killed by Zeus
when he rescued the Cyclopes for help in the battle with the Titans
.
In his lexicon Hesychius of Alexandria
(K.614) noted that the poet Epicharmos had called Campe a kētos
, or sea-monster.
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...
, Campe or Kampê ( "crooked"; confer καμπή "a twist, a bend") is the name of a chthonic
Chthonic
Chthonic designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land or the land as territory...
female monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
(drakaina
Drakaina (mythology)
In Greek mythology, a drakaina is a female dragon, sometimes with human-like features. Examples included Campe, Ceto, Delphyne, Echidna, Scylla, Lamia , Poine, and Python ....
).
Mythology
Campe was a dragonDragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
with a woman's head and torso and a scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
-like tail. Nonnus
Nonnus
Nonnus of Panopolis , was a Greek epic poet. He was a native of Panopolis in the Egyptian Thebaid, and probably lived at the end of the 4th or early 5th century....
, in Dionysiaca
Dionysiaca
The Dionysiaca is an ancient epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surviving poem from antiquity at 20,426 lines, composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hexameters, the main subject of which is the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India, and his...
(18.23-264) gives the most elaborated description of her. Joseph Eddy Fontenrose suggests that for Nonnus Campe is a Greek refiguring of Tiamat
Tiamat
In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is a chaos monster, a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû to produce younger gods. It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is 'creatrix', through a "Sacred marriage" between salt and fresh water,...
and that "she is Echidna
Echidna (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Echidna was half woman half snake, known as the "Mother of All Monsters" because most of the monsters in Greek myth were mothered by her...
under another name, as Nonnos indicates, calling her Echidnaean Enyo, identifying her snaky legs with Echidna's," and "a female counterpart of his Typhon
Typhon
Typhon , also Typhoeus , Typhaon or Typhos was the last son of Gaia, fathered by Tartarus, and the most deadly monster of Greek mythology. He was known as the "Father of all monsters"; his wife Echidna was likewise the "Mother of All Monsters."Typhon was described in pseudo-Apollodorus,...
".
Campe was set by Cronus
Cronus
In Greek mythology, Cronus or Kronos was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky...
to guard the Hecatonchires
Hekatonkheires
The Hecatonchires, or Hekatonkheires , were figures in an archaic stage of Greek mythology, three giants of incredible strength and ferocity that surpassed that of all Titans whom they helped overthrow. Their name derives from the Greek and , "each of them having a hundred hands and fifty heads"...
and Cyclopes
Cyclops
A cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
in Tartarus
Tartarus
In classic mythology, below Uranus , Gaia , and Pontus is Tartarus, or Tartaros . It is a deep, gloomy place, a pit, or an abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides beneath the underworld. In the Gorgias, Plato In classic mythology, below Uranus (sky), Gaia (earth), and Pontus...
after Cronus didn't release them from their imprisonment there when they were imprisoned by Uranus
Uranus (mythology)
Uranus , was the primal Greek god personifying the sky. His equivalent in Roman mythology was Caelus. In Ancient Greek literature, according to Hesiod in his Theogony, Uranus or Father Sky was the son and husband of Gaia, Mother Earth...
. She was killed by Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
when he rescued the Cyclopes for help in the battle with the Titans
Titanomachy
In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy or War of the Titans , was the ten-year series of battles fought in Thessaly between the two camps of deities long before the existence of mankind: the Titans, based on Mount Othrys, and the Olympians, who would come to reign on Mount Olympus...
.
In his lexicon Hesychius of Alexandria
Hesychius of Alexandria
Hesychius of Alexandria , a grammarian who flourished probably in the 5th century CE, compiled the richest lexicon of unusual and obscure Greek words that has survived...
(K.614) noted that the poet Epicharmos had called Campe a kētos
Cetus (mythology)
In ancient Greek, the word ketos - Latinized as cetus - denotes a large fish, a whale, a shark, or a sea monster. The sea monsters slain by Perseus and Heracles were each referred to as a cetus by ancient sources. The term cetacean originates from cetus. In Greek art, cetea were depicted as...
, or sea-monster.
Television
- In the TV series Class of the TitansClass of the TitansClass of the Titans is a Canadian animated television series created by Studio B Productions and Nelvana. It premiered on December 31, 2005 at 5 pm ET/PT on Teletoon with a special 90-minute presentation of the first three episodes. The series aired in the United States on qubo from September...
, Campe (voiced by Pam HyattPam HyattPam Hyatt is a voice actress who played Noble Heart Horse in 1986's The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. More recently, she has starred in the English version of InuYasha as Kaede, guest-starred in USA Network's The Dead Zone and voices Campe and Atropos in Class of the Titans.Hyatt is the...
in Season One, Pauline NewstonePauline NewstonePauline Newstone is a voice actress.- Voice credits :*Beast Wars - Airazor *Dragon Ball Z - Frieza *Class of the Titans - Medusa*Hamtaro - Kaitlin Endo*Inuyasha - Mistress Centipede...
in Season Two) is the jailer of Tartarus and her only escapee was Cronus. She has a woman's head, torso and arms, the body of a snake and has a live scorpion on her back that can detach itself of her body, and she wields a staff. When she wanted to use the Chosen Ones as bait in order to recapture Cronus as seen in "Prisoner Campe," she finally allied herself with them after an embarrassing fight against Jay. She had to choose between capturing Cronus and saving Herry's life. Her favorite question to ask herself seems to be "Is my enemy's enemy my friend or my enemy?"
Other literature
- Campe (spelled "Kampê") appears as a character in the fourth book in the Percy Jackson & the OlympiansPercy Jackson & the OlympiansPercy Jackson & the Olympians is a pentalogy of adventure and fantasy fiction books authored by Rick Riordan. The series consists of five books, as well as spin-off titles such as The Demigod Files and Demigods and Monsters. Set in the United States, the books are predominantly based on Greek...
series, The Battle of the LabyrinthThe Battle of the LabyrinthThe Battle of the Labyrinth is a 2008 fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology; it is the fourth novel in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan...
, where she is a member of the Titan Kronos' army of monsters. She is first encountered serving as Briares' jailer on Alcatraz. Briares is a Hundred-Handed one, or HecatonchireHekatonkheiresThe Hecatonchires, or Hekatonkheires , were figures in an archaic stage of Greek mythology, three giants of incredible strength and ferocity that surpassed that of all Titans whom they helped overthrow. Their name derives from the Greek and , "each of them having a hundred hands and fifty heads"...
, the last one of his kind. She is described as half woman and half dragon. The dragon portion is twenty feet long with black scales, large claws, a barbed tail, and dragon legs made out of hundreds of viper snakes. The human portion had snakes for hair similar to MedusaMedusaIn Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
. Where the human and dragon portions meet contained bubbly skin with the heads of various wild animals growing from each bubble. She also wields two poison-tipped scimitarsScimitarA scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...
. She is killed by Briares (the Hundred Handed One) who threw rocks at her.