Theano
Encyclopedia
Theano was the priestess of Athena
in Troy
. She was the daughter of the Thracian
king Cisseus
and Telecleia
, wife of Antenor
, and mother of many sons and a daughter Crino. The household of Antenor and Theano advocated peace and advised Helen's return to the Greeks. Because of their support (some say treason), the Greeks spared their household when they sacked the city. One story has Theano and Antenor sailing with Aeneas
to Italy and founding the city of Padua
. Another story is that she took the Palladium
, an image of Athena that had fallen from the sky and supposedly provided Troy its protection, with her. In Book VI of the Iliad
, with Hecuba
and the Trojan women, Theano offered a gift and plea to Athena for the life of the city, but was rebuffed.
and Roman mythology
.
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
in Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
. She was the daughter of the Thracian
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
king Cisseus
Cisseus
In Greek mythology, Cisseus was a Thracian king and father of Theano, the wife of Antenor, as related in Homer's Iliad. His wife was Telecleia, a daughter of King Ilus of Troy....
and Telecleia
Telecleia
In Greek mythology, Telecleia was a daughter of King Ilus of Troy, and the wife of King Cisseus of Thrace. She is therefore the mother of Theano, wife to Antenor, and also a possible mother of Hecuba....
, wife of Antenor
Antenor (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Anthenor was a son of the Dardanian noble Aesyetes by Cleomestra. He is a counselor to Priam during the Trojan War.-History:He was one of the wisest of the Trojan elders and counsellors...
, and mother of many sons and a daughter Crino. The household of Antenor and Theano advocated peace and advised Helen's return to the Greeks. Because of their support (some say treason), the Greeks spared their household when they sacked the city. One story has Theano and Antenor sailing with Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
to Italy and founding the city of Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
. Another story is that she took the Palladium
Palladium (mythology)
In Greek and Roman mythology, a palladium or palladion was an image of great antiquity on which the safety of a city was said to depend. "Palladium" especially signified the wooden statue of Pallas Athena that Odysseus and Diomedes stole from the citadel of Troy and which was later taken to the...
, an image of Athena that had fallen from the sky and supposedly provided Troy its protection, with her. In Book VI of the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
, with Hecuba
Hecuba
Hecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War, with whom she had 19 children. These children included several major characters of Homer's Iliad such as the warriors Hector and Paris, and the prophetess Cassandra...
and the Trojan women, Theano offered a gift and plea to Athena for the life of the city, but was rebuffed.
Other uses
Theano is also the name of three more (minor) figures in GreekGreek 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...
and Roman mythology
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
.
- Theano, one of the Danaids, daughter of DanausDanausIn Greek mythology Danaus, or Danaos , was the twin brother of Aegyptus and son of Achiroe and Belus, a mythical king of Egypt. The myth of Danaus is a foundation legend of Argos, one of the foremost Mycenaean cities of the Peloponnesus...
and PolyxoPolyxoPolyxo is the name of several figures in Greek mythology:*One of the Hyades.*A Naiad of the river Nile, presumably one of the daughters of the river-god Nilus. She was one of the wives of Danaus and bore him twelve daughters: Autonoe, Theano, Electra, Cleopatra, Eurydice, Glaucippe, Anthelea,...
. She married (and murdered) PhantesPhantesPhantes, in Greek mythology, is one of the sons of Aegyptus and Caliadne. He married Theano, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Polyxo....
, son of AegyptusAegyptus- Aegyptus, King of Egypt and Arabia :In Greek mythology, Aegyptus is a descendant of the heifer maiden, Io, and the river-god Nilus, and was a king in Egypt. Aegyptos was the son of Belus and Achiroe, a naiad daughter of Nile. Aegyptus fathered fifty sons, who were all but one murdered by the...
and CaliadneCaliadneCaliadne , in Greek mythology, is a naiad of the river Nile, presumably one of the daughters of the river-god Nilus. She is one of the wives of Aegyptus, bearing him twelve sons: Eurylochus, Phantes, Peristhenes, Hermus, Dryas, Potamon, Cisseus, Lixus, Imbrus, Bromios, Polyctor, and Chthonios...
.
- Theano or TheonaTheonaIn Greek mythology, Theona was a daughter of Dymas, a sister of Hecuba and wife of Amycus. With him, she mothered Mimas....
a character appearing in the AeneidAeneidThe Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
, consort of Amycus. She gave birth to her son, MimasMimas (Aeneid)Mimas is a Greek mythological character who appears in Virgil's Aeneid. He was the son of Amycus and Theona. A Trojan, he accompanied Aeneas to Italy, where he was killed by Mezentius....
, on the same night queen HecabeHecabeHecabe can refer to:* Hecabe, Latin Hecuba, a Trojan queen, wife of Priam and mother of Hector.* An orchid related to the genus Phaius....
's son ParisParis (mythology)Paris , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War...
was born. Mimas was killed in exile, fighting alongside AeneasAeneasAeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, by MezentiusMezentiusIn Roman mythology, Mezentius was an Etruscan king, and father of Lausus. Sent into exile because of his cruelty, he moved to Latium. He reveled in bloodshed and was overwhelmingly savage on the battlefield, but more significantly to a Roman audience he was a contemptor divum, a "despiser of the...
, king of the Etruscans.
- Theano, wife of Metapontus, king of IcariaIcariaIcaria, also spelled Ikaria , is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles southwest of Samos. It derived its name from Icarus, the son of Daedalus in Greek mythology, who fell into the sea nearby. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Ikaria peripheral...
. Metapontus demanded that she bear him children, or leave the kingdom. She presented the children of MelanippeMelanippeIn Greek mythology, Melanippe referred to several different people.* Daughter of the Centaur Chiron. Also known as Hippe or Euippe. She bore a daughter to Aeolus, Melanippe or Arne...
to her husband, as if they were her own. Later Theano bore him two sons of her own and, wishing to leave the kingdom to her own children, sent them to kill Melanippe's. In the fight that ensued, her two sons were killed, and she committed suicide upon hearing the news.