CARYA, -Æ, (Stephanus); Carya, -arum, (Pausanias); a town of Laconia, between Sparta and the borders of Messenia; where stood a temple of Diana, thence called Caryatis, -idis; whose annual festival, called Carya, -orum, was celebrated by Spartan virgins with dances. An inhabitant, Caryates, and Caryatis, Caryatis opis, a Laconian bee, (Stephanus).