Tecmessa
Encyclopedia
The name Tecmessa refers to the following characters in Greek mythology
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Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
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- Tecmessa was the daughter of Teuthras, king of Teuthrania in MysiaMysiaMysia was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia . It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest, Troad on the west and by the Propontis on the north...
, or Teleutas, king of PhrygiaPhrygiaIn antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
. During the Trojan War, Telamonian AjaxAjax (mythology)Ajax or Aias was a mythological Greek hero, the son of Telamon and Periboea and king of Salamis. He plays an important role in Homer's Iliad and in the Epic Cycle, a series of epic poems about the Trojan War. To distinguish him from Ajax, son of Oileus , he is called "Telamonian Ajax," "Greater...
kills Tecmessa's father and takes her captive; his reason for doing so may have been, as the Roman poet HoraceHoraceQuintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
wrote, that Ajax was captivated by Tecmessa's beauty. In SophoclesSophoclesSophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
’ AjaxAjax (Sophocles)Sophocles's Ajax is a Greek tragedy written in the 5th century BC. The date of Ajax's first performance is unknown, but most scholars regard it as an early work, circa 450 - 430 B.C....
, Tecmessa attempts to stop Ajax from committing suicide, although she is unsuccessful. She is the first to find his corpse, which she promptly covers with her own clothing to prevent further heartache. Their infant son, EurysacesEurysacesEurysaces in Greek mythology was the son of the Telemonian Ajax and the former-princess captive-slave girl Tecmessa. He was venerated in Athens. Eurysaces was named after his father's famous shield...
, however, survives the incident.
- Tecmessa is also the name of one of the AmazonsAmazonsThe Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
killed by HeraclesHeraclesHeracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
in his quest for the girdle of Hippolyte.