The only source on Arne's story is
Ovid's mythological poem
Metamorphoses from 8 BC, where—depending on the manuscript—her name is given as
Arne Sithonis or
Arne Sithon ("the Sithonian Arne", meaning "the Thracian Arne";
see below). Attempts have been made to identify the island as
Siphnos due to
paleographical similarities, but no independent legend connects an
Arne to Siphnos or any other island of the
Cyclades. Like
Sithoniae (nurus),
Sithonios (agros) and
Sithon,
Sithonis means "Thracian". Based on the original assumption of the legend's Cycladian origin (e.g. the island of Siphnos), the term
Sithonis was doubted, because it was believed for a long time that the
Thracians had never been to the Cyclades. Huxley (1984) however has shown that
Sithonis in this case refers to the inhabitants of
Naxos. This origin was first proposed by Franz Börner, because Naxos (as the largest of the Cyclades) was missing in Ovid's extensive catalog of islands. In addition, Greek sources confirm that Thracians settled on Naxos for roughly two hundred years before they were replaced by
Karian immigrants after a drought, two generations before the time of
Theseus and Minos. Further evidence for Thracian settlements on Naxos are found in the lost
Naxiaka of Andriskos, a local Naxian historian. They told the story about the two Thracian plunderers from Naxos, Skellis and Agassamenos, who raided the
Peloponnese, the surrounding islands and eventually Thessaly. There they seized
Iphimede, wife of
Aloeus, and her daughter Pankrato. Therefore, Huxley further suggests that
Ἄρνη (
Arne)—as a toponym of Thessalian "cities of origin"—could indicate that
Arne Sithonis was a descendant of the women kidnapped by Skellis and Agassamenos and taken to Naxos. However, the word also denotes a Thracian place of origin. In any case,
Arne Sithonis was in all probability a survivor of the Thracian population of Naxos amongst the Karians. As a possible alternative, Ovid may have been following "a version of the myth in which Thracians—not Karians—were still ruling Naxos in the time of Minos". Huxley asserts that Ovid's mythographic or poetical source is unknown, but suggests
Parthenius, because the Greek poet mentioned the Thracians of Naxos. The fact that "Thracian [of Naxos]" hides behind Ovid's
Sithonis shows that the Cretan king Minos had also captured the island of Naxos, probably after visiting
Paros. ==See also==