Amphithea

Amphithea is a figure in Greek mythology best known as a naiad, a water nymph. She is traditionally described as the daughter of the river god Achelous and the daughter of the river god Achelous. Her myth is most famously recorded in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where she is portrayed as a beautiful young woman chosen by the goddess Venus (Aphrodite in Greek). Cupid, acting under Venus’s command, transforms Amphithea into a peach tree to conceal her from jealous lovers, for the tree’s blossoms are highly desirable. In the story, the tree’s peach-like fruit grows from the nymph’s body, suggesting a link between the natural world and divine intervention.

In Roman literature, Amphithea is sometimes associated with spring and fertility, appearing in poems that celebrate seasonal renewal. The name has been used in botanical contexts, occasionally as a poetic reference to plum trees or fragrant fruit-bearing shrubs, reflecting the myth’s association with sweet, colorful fruit. While no major cult or widespread worship centered on Amphithea herself, the tale exemplifies common themes in Greek myth of transformation and the intertwining of human desire with the forces of nature. The narrative also serves as an etiological explanation for the existence of certain fruit trees, providing a mythic origin that connects daily life with divine stories.