Tenes
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, Tenes was the eponym
ous hero of the island of Tenedos
. He was the son either of Apollo
or of King Cycnus
of Colonae by Proclia
, daughter or granddaughter of Laomedon
. Cycnus' second wife Philonome, daughter of Tragasus or Cragasus, falsely accused Tenes of rape, bringing in a flutist named Eumolpus as witness. Cycnus believed the accusations and tried to kill Tenes and his sister Hemithea
by placing them both in a chest, which was set into the ocean. However, the chest landed at the island of Leucophrye, which was later renamed Tenedos, and the two survived. The natives of the island pronounced Tenes their king. Cycnus later learned the truth, killed Eumolpus, buried Philonome alive and tried to reconcile with his children, but Tenes rejected his overture; when Cycnus' ship landed at Tenedos, Tenes took an axe and cut the moorings.
Tenes fought in the Trojan War
on the side of the Trojans
and was slain by Achilles
, even though Thetis
had previously warned her son against doing so, for Tenes' death would be avenged by Apollo
. Shortly after the end of the Trojan War, Agamemnon
permitted the Trojan prisoners of war to build a city north of Mycenea. The city was called Tenea
after Tenes. A description on the history of Tenea
was also given by Pausanias.
Diodorus Siculus
relates that the Tenedians founded a sanctuary of Tenes to commemorate his virtues. No flute-player was allowed to enter the sacred precinct, and the name of Achilles was not to be pronounced in it. Sacrifices were offered to Tenes down to late times.
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...
, Tenes was the eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous hero of the island of Tenedos
Tenedos
Tenedos or Bozcaada or Bozdja-Ada is a small island in the Aegean Sea, part of the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale province in Turkey. , Tenedos has a population of about 2,354. The main industries are tourism, wine production and fishing...
. He was the son either of Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
or of King Cycnus
Cycnus
In Greek mythology, four people were known as Cycnus or Cygnus. Most of them ended up being transformed into swans. The most famous Cycnus however, was the son of Ares.-Son of Ares:Cycnus was sired upon Pelopia or Pyrene...
of Colonae by Proclia
Proclia
In Greek mythology Proclia or Proclea is the daughter of Laomedon, king of Troy, or Clytius, son of Laomedon . She married Cycnus, king of Colonae, and bore him two children, Tenes and Hemithea....
, daughter or granddaughter of Laomedon
Laomedon
In Greek mythology, Laomedon was a Trojan king, son of Ilus, brother of Ganymede and Assaracus, and father of Priam, Astyoche, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Cilla, Proclia, Aethilla, Medesicaste, Clytodora, and Hesione...
. Cycnus' second wife Philonome, daughter of Tragasus or Cragasus, falsely accused Tenes of rape, bringing in a flutist named Eumolpus as witness. Cycnus believed the accusations and tried to kill Tenes and his sister Hemithea
Hemithea (mythology)
In Greek mythology, the name Hemithea refers to:* Originally named Molpadia, daughter of Staphylus and Chrysothemis, sister of Parthenos and Rhoeo...
by placing them both in a chest, which was set into the ocean. However, the chest landed at the island of Leucophrye, which was later renamed Tenedos, and the two survived. The natives of the island pronounced Tenes their king. Cycnus later learned the truth, killed Eumolpus, buried Philonome alive and tried to reconcile with his children, but Tenes rejected his overture; when Cycnus' ship landed at Tenedos, Tenes took an axe and cut the moorings.
Tenes fought in the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
on the side of the Trojans
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...
and was slain by Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
, even though Thetis
Thetis
Silver-footed Thetis , disposer or "placer" , is encountered in Greek mythology mostly as a sea nymph or known as the goddess of water, one of the fifty Nereids, daughters of the ancient one of the seas with shape-shifting abilities who survives in the historical vestiges of most later Greek myths...
had previously warned her son against doing so, for Tenes' death would be avenged by Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
. Shortly after the end of the Trojan War, Agamemnon
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
permitted the Trojan prisoners of war to build a city north of Mycenea. The city was called Tenea
Tenea
Tenea is an ancient city and a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipality was in Chiliomodi. Ancient Tenea was established approximately 15...
after Tenes. A description on the history of Tenea
Tenea
Tenea is an ancient city and a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipality was in Chiliomodi. Ancient Tenea was established approximately 15...
was also given by Pausanias.
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
relates that the Tenedians founded a sanctuary of Tenes to commemorate his virtues. No flute-player was allowed to enter the sacred precinct, and the name of Achilles was not to be pronounced in it. Sacrifices were offered to Tenes down to late times.