Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, Themisto (;

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 ...

: Θεμιστώ) was a Thessalin princess as the daughter of King

Hypseus In Greek mythology, the name Hypseus (; grc, Ὑψεύς "one on high", derived from ''hypsos'' "height") may refer to: *Hypseus, King of the Lapiths, son of the river god Peneus by the naiad Creusa, daughter of Gaia, or by Philyra, a daughter o ...

Lapiths The Lapiths (; grc, Λαπίθαι) are a group of legendary people in Greek mythology, whose home was in Thessaly, in the valley of the Peneus and on the mountain Pelion. Mythology Origin The Lapiths were an Aeolian tribe who, like the Myr ...

Apollodorus Apollodorus (Ancient Greek, Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: ...

, 1.9.2 and the

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who ...

Chlidanope In Greek mythology, Chlidanope was the naiad wife of King Hypseus of Lapiths, son of the river-god Peneus. The couple had four daughters: Cyrene, Themisto, AlcaeaScholia on Pindar, ''Pythian Ode'' 9.31 and Astyagyia.Diodorus Siculus, 4.69.3 Note ...

. Her name is derived from the

word: "θεμιστος" which means "belonging to the law", or "belonging to the customs".

Family

Themisto's sisters were Cyrene,

Alcaea In Greek mythology, Alcaea was a Thessalin princess as the daughter of King Hypseus of LapithsScholia on Pindar, ''Pythian Ode'' 9.31 and the naiad Chlidanope. She was the sister of Cyrene, ThemistoApollodorus, 1.9.2 and Astyaguia.Diodorus Siculu ...

Scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...

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 ...

, ''Pythian Ode'' 9.31 and Astyagyia. She was the third and last wife of

Athamas In Greek mythology, Athamas (; grc, Ἀθάμας, Athámas) was a Boeotian king.Apollodorus1.9.1/ref> Family Athamas was formerly a Thessalian prince and the son of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. He was the brothe ...

, a

Boeotian Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...

king. According to some sources, the couple had four children:

Leucon In Greek mythology, the name Leucon (; Ancient Greek: Λεύκων) may refer to: *Leucon, a son of Themisto by either Athamas or Poseidon. His children were Erythras, Pisidice, Hyperippe and Euippe (mother of Eteocles by Andreus). He was said to h ...

, Erythrius,

Schoeneus In Greek mythology, Schoeneus (; Ancient Greek: Σχοινεύς ''Skhoineús'', literally "rushy") was the name of several individuals: *Schoeneus, a Boeotian king, the son of Athamas and Themisto. He may have emigrated to Arcadia, where a villag ...

, and

Ptous In Greek mythology, Ptous (; Ancient Greek: Πτῶος) may refer to the following: * Ptous, eponym of Mount Ptous in Boeotia on which the town Acraephnium was situated. He was believed to have been a son of either Athamas and Themisto, or of Acra ...

. In other sources, there were but two: Sphincius and Orchomenus, or else Schoeneus and Leucon. Some say that the father of Leucon was

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

(see also

Leuconoe In Greek mythology, the name Leuconoe (; Ancient Greek: Λευκονόη, ) may refer to: *Leuconoe, one of the Minyads, more commonly known as Leucippe. *Leuconoe, daughter of Lucifer (Eosphorus) and mother of Philammon by Apollo.Hyginus, ''Fabu ...

Mythology

Themisto intended to kill her husband's children by his previous wife, but accidentally slew her own sons. This was the subject of a non-surviving tragedy by

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...

, retold by Hyginus as follows. Athamas married Themisto as he believed his second wife, Ino, was dead, but Ino turned out to be alive and to have been on Mount

Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; el, Παρνασσός, ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is and historically has been especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers ...

with the

Maenads In Greek mythology, maenads (; grc, μαινάδες ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Maenads were known as Bassarids, ...

. Athamas had her brought home but kept her return a secret; Themisto did find out she was back, and resolved to kill Ino's children as an act of revenge. However, she had never seen Ino in person and took her for a servant as they met, and ordered the "servant" to dress all her own children in white clothing, and Ino's in black. Themisto then proceeded to kill all the black-clothed children. What Themisto did not realise was that Ino had switched the children's clothing, and so she in fact killed her own children. Upon discovering that, she killed herself.Hyginus, ''Fabulae'
4

243
a shorter version in Fab. 1, where the clothing swap is attributed to a nurse's mistake and Ino isn't involved. According to

Pseudo-Apollodorus The ''Bibliotheca'' (Ancient Greek: grc, Βιβλιοθήκη, lit=Library, translit=Bibliothēkē, label=none), also known as the ''Bibliotheca'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus, is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, arranged in three book ...

, however, Themisto married Athamas after the death of Ino, and the whole story with the murder of the children did not take place.

Notes

References

, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*

Callimachus Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide variety ...

, ''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 *Callimachus, ''Works''. A.W. Mair. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1921
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, ''The Library of History'' translated by

Charles Henry Oldfather Charles Henry Oldfather (13 June 1887 – 20 August 1954) was an American professor of history of the ancient world, specifically at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born in Tabriz, Persia. Parentage Oldfather's parents, Jeremiah and Fe ...

. Twelve volumes.

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 ...

. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8
Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
*Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2''. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888-1890
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Gaius Julius Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammatic ...

, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Graves, Robert, ''The Greek Myths: The Complete and Definitive Edition.'' Penguin Books Limited. 2017. *

Nonnus of Panopolis Nonnus of Panopolis ( grc-gre, Νόννος ὁ Πανοπολίτης, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century CE) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Thebai ...

, ''Dionysiaca'' translated by William Henry Denham Rouse (1863-1950), from the Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1940.
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Nonnus of Panopolis, ''Dionysiaca. 3 Vols.'' W.H.D. Rouse. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1940-1942
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
Boeotian mythology Family of Athamas Filicide in mythology Lapiths in Greek mythology Princesses in Greek mythology Suicides in Greek mythology Women of Apollo {{Greek-myth-stub