Iambé
(
Ἰάμβη). A Thracian servant-maid of Metanira, wife of
Celeus, king of Eleusis, who succeeded by her tricks and jests in making
Demeter (q.v.) smile when the goddess was full of distress at the loss of
her daughter (
Apollod. i.5.1). She was the daughter of Pan and
Echo. From Iambé, the metrical foot known as the
iambus
(˘¯) gets its name, as being light and adapted to playful themes. Such, at
any rate, was the tradition, but the story of Iambé is of probably later date than
the nomenclature of the verse.