July 24: Travel Month

The island of Perimele is nowhere to be found on a modern map, but in ancient times, every seafarer could point it out. He would also eagerly tell you its story, in all its gruesome detail. Sweet princess Perimele was renowned for her beauty, and had attracted the attention of river god Acheloös. He took advantage of her, and when her father learned about this, he got so angry he wanted revenge. Understandable. Less understandable is that it he chose to punish his daughter, not the god. He threw her off a cliff. Let me repeat that. He threw her off a cliff. A remorseful Acheloös caught the girl as she fell in his waters, and he kept her afloat as long as he could. But when they reached the sea, he couldn’t hold on, and in desperation, cried out to ocean god Poseidon (who was kind of his great-great-half-nephew). Glancing at the drowning girl, Poseidon thought it would be a shame to let such beauty perish. So he transformed her into an island, and by alll accounts, she’s still afloat. Most likely as one of the Echinades.

Achelous, Etruscan pendent, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

Achelous, askos, Archaeological Museum of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain

Did you know?

• About Acheloös (Achelous): cfr. “Sharp Islands”, “Springtime”.

• About Poseidon (Neptune): cfr. “Victim Blaming”, “The Weight of the World”, “A Crowded Mountain”, “A little Snowman”, “Shiny Seawater”, “A little Lamb”, “The Kingmaker”, “The last Stand”, “High Flyer”, “Pebbles”, “Old Money”.

• Perimele’s father would have been Hippodamas, about whom little is known.