ancient Greek religion Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. The application of the modern concept of "religion" to ancient cultures has been ...

and

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

, the Theban hero Tenerus (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

: Τήνερος) was the son and prophet of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

. His mother was Melia, a daughter of the Titan

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus (; grc-gre, , Ancient Greek pronunciation: , also Ὠγενός , Ὤγενος , or Ὠγήν ) was a Titan son of Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys, and the father of the river gods a ...

Mythology

According to

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

, Melia, who had been abducted by Apollo, gave birth to Tenerus and his brother

Ismenus In Greek mythology, the name Ismenus (Ancient Greek: Ἰσμηνός) or Ismenius may refer to: *Ismenus or Ismenius, son of Oceanus and Tethys, god of the river of the same name. He was mentioned as the father of several spring nymphs, including ...

, the eponym of the Theban river. The Teneric plain, Northwest of Thebes was named after Tenerus. Tenerus was a priest and prophet of Apollo, and had an oracle at the Ismenion, the Temple of Apollo at Thebes. The late 6th–early 5th century BC Theban poet

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is ...

, called Tenerus "the temple tending seer", and referred to him as "mighty Tenerus, chosen prophet of oracles", to whom Apollo entrusted the city of Thebes, "because of his wise courage", and whom Poseidon honored "above all mortals". A very fragmentary Pindaric ''Paean'', was perhaps addressed to Tenerus. Its first line has the singer sing: "(I come to?) the giver of divine oracles" and in line thirteen "we speak of the hero Tenerus", with mentions in the immediately succeeding lines of "bulls", "before the altar", "they sang a song", and "oracle".

Lycophron Lycophron (; grc-gre, Λυκόφρων ὁ Χαλκιδεύς; born about 330–325 BC) was a Hellenistic Greek tragic poet, grammarian, sophist, and commentator on comedy, to whom the poem ''Alexandra'' is attributed (perhaps falsely). Life and ...

, refers to Thebes, or perhaps more generally Boeotia, as the "land and temples of Teneros". Pausanias says that Tenerus was given "the art of divination", by his father Apollo. Tenerus was also perhaps connected with the

Ptoion Ptoion (Ancient Greek ''Ptōïon'' , also ''Ptōon'' / , Modern Greek Ptoo Πτώο or ''Oros Pelagias'' Όρος Πελαγίας) is a mountain chain in northeastern Boiotia. It stretches from Akraiphia by the former Lake Copais in the west ...

, the oracular sanctuary of Apollo Ptoieus at the foot of Mount Ptoion.Although Strabo
9.2.34
in a passage that quotes from otherwise unknown fragments of Pindar, says that Tenerus was "a prophet of the oracle on the Ptoüs Mountain", Schachter 1981, p. 59, says that Tenerus' "presence at the Ptoion may be due solely to Pindar", while Schachter 1967, p. 4, further explains that Pindar's associating Tenerus with the Ptoion "may be a poetic way of asserting the fact of Theban control over the Ptoion, by making the legendary prophet of the Ismenion the prophet of the other oracle." See also Hornblower
p. 433, 1211n
"It has been thought, partly from location of the eponymous plain, that Teneros must have been somehow connected with the Ptoiuon. Strabo evidently thought so, 9. 2. 34, and cf. Schacter 1981-94: 1. 59, 3. 40, and many other scholars); but I. Rutherford 2001: 343-4 has challenged this, and is right to insist that hard linking evidence is in short supply. Actually the plain is much closer to Thebes than to the Ptoion (''Barr.'' map 55 E4)."

Notes

References

* Drachmann, Anders Bjørn, ''Scholia vetera in Pindari carmina'', Vol. II, Lipsiae, 1910
Internet Archive
* Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy, ''Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins'',

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

, 1959. . * Grenfell, Bernard P., Arthur S, Hunt, ''The Oxyrhynchus Papyri Part X'', London, Egypt Exploration Fund, 1914
Internet Archive
* Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996, . * Hornblower, Simon, ''Lykophron: Alexandra: Greek Text, Translation, Commentary, and Introduction'' Oxford University Press, 2015. . * Larson, Jennifer, "Greek Nymphs : Myth, Cult, Lore", Oxford University Press (US). June 2001. *

, ''Alexandra'' (or ''Cassandra'') in ''Callimachus and Lycophron with an English translation by A. W. Mair ; Aratus, with an English translation by G. R. Mair'', London: W. Heinemann, New York: G. P. Putnam 1921
Internet Archive
*

, ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Race, William H., ''Pindar: Nemean Odes. Isthmian Odes. Fragments'', Edited and translated by William H. Race.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...

No. 485. Cambridge, Massachusetts:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, 1997.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Rutherford, Ian, ''Pindar's Paeans: A Reading of the Fragments with a Survey of the Genre'', Oxford University Press, 2001. . * Schachter, Albert (1967), "A Boeotian Cult Type" in ''

Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies The Institute of Classical Studies is a research institution associated with the University of London and a member of the School of Advanced Study. The institute is a national and international research institute in the languages, literature, his ...

(BICS)'', No. 14, pp. 1–16. * Schachter, Albert (1981), ''Cults of Boiotia'', vol. I, University of London,

Institute of Classical Studies The Institute of Classical Studies is a research institution associated with the University of London and a member of the School of Advanced Study. The institute is a national and international research institute in the languages, literature, his ...

, Bulletin Supplement 38.1. {{JSTOR, 43768566. *

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

, ''Geography'', translated by Horace Leonard Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. (1924)
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library, Books 6–14
*

Tzetzes John Tzetzes ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who is known to have lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He was able to p ...

, ''Scolia eis Lycophroon'', edited by Christian Gottfried Müller, Sumtibus F.C.G. Vogelii, 1811
Internet Archive
Children of Apollo Demigods in classical mythology Theban mythology Religion in ancient Boeotia