Chariclo

Chariclo is a figure in Greek mythology described as a nymph associated with sacred groves and prophetic knowledge. She is best known as the mother of Tiresias, the famed blind seer of Thebes, and is usually said to have been married to Everes, a shepherd who tended flocks on Mount Pelion. In this traditional account, Tiresias is the son of a mortal shepherd and a divine mother, linking mortal and divine lines in a single mythheralding lineage.

Accounts of Chariclo’s origin and role vary. Some sources offer different parentage or describe her simply as a wise nurse or caretaker figure connected to Tiresias, while others give alternative genealogies that place Chariclo in different local traditions. The fragmentary and inconsistent nature of early Greek myth means that Chariclo’s exact status can differ between authors and regions.

Her enduring significance rests largely on her relationship to Tiresias. Because Tiresias becomes one of the most famous prophets in Greek literature, Chariclo’s place as his mother (and in some versions as a source of his early education or prophetic insight) contributes to the broader mythic context of how prophetic gifts are transmitted within a family. Beyond her association with Tiresias, Chariclo appears infrequently in surviving texts, and her characterization remains that of a minor yet symbolically important figure in the interconnected cycles of Greek myth.