Carpus's only myth is related in the
Dionysiaca, a fifth-century epic by
Nonnus. Carpus fell in love with another youth,
Calamus, who was the son of a river-god
Meander. However, while the two were competing in a swimming contest, the wind drove a wave into Carpus's face and he drowned. In his grief, Calamus 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, while Carpus became "the fruit of the earth". Servius writes that Calamus blamed his father for Carpus's death, so he ran away and prayed to
Zeus, who responded by transforming both of them. When rustled in the wind, those reeds would always give out a sound of lamentation. == Symbolism ==