Karpos


In Greek mythology, Karpos, was a youth renowned for his beauty. He is the son of Zephyrus and Khloris, forming a natural metaphor — the west wind heralds the new growth of spring, which then bears fruit.
Karpo, one of the Horae, is the feminine equivalent of Karpos; her dominion being the fruits of the earth.

Greek mythology

The story, told in Nonnus's Dionysiaca, tells about the love of two youths, Karpos and Kalamos, son of Maiandros. Karpos drowned in the Meander river while the two were competing in a swimming contest and in his grief, Kalamos allowed himself to also drown. He was then transformed into a water reed, whose rustling in the wind was interpreted as a sigh of lamentation.

Etymology

The word Karpos derives from the Proto-Indo-European language root *kerp-. Cognates can be found in many Indo-European languages including modern English in words such as "harvest", "carpet", "excerpt" and "scarce". Coming to English directly from the Greek karpos are the following:
A well-known expression in Latin is carpe diem from the Latin verb carpo, cognate to the Greek karpos.