Anaxarete

Anaxarete (Excellent Princess) Greek The central villain in a popular love story from Greek mythology. Anaxarete was a rich and beautiful but cruel maiden who lived in a city on the island of Cyprus. The handsome young man Iphis loved Anaxarete, but she only laughed at his pledges of devotion. In final desperation, Iphis hanged himself in her doorway. Even that act brought no feelings of sadness to Anaxarete. The citizens of her city, though, were so touched by his unfulfilled love and his sad ending that they gave him a huge funeral procession. The crowd wound through the streets and passed the home of Anaxarete's family. Curious, and believing the crowd was honoring her, Anaxarete leaned out of the window. When she realized the people were honoring Iphis, she only laughed and scoffed at the dead young man. Aphrodite, goddess of love, watched the procession, too. She knew of Iphis's unrequited love and shared the pity the crowd felt for him. When Aphrodite heard Anaxarete's callous laughter, the goddess grew furious and turned the maiden to stone in the very position of leaning out of the window. Discovering Anaxarete, the people of Cyprus placed the statue in a temple at Salamis, where it stood as a reminder of the girl's cruelty.