| Greek Name |
Transliteration |
Latin Spelling |
Translation |
| Μυκηνη |
Mykênê |
Mycene |
Of the Town Mycene |
MYKENE (or Mycene) was the Naiad Nymph of the spring, well or fountain of the town of Mykenai (Mycenae) in Argos. She was a daughter of the local river-god Inakhos (Inachus).
| PARENTS |
INAKHOS (Hesiod Great Eoiae Frag, Pausanias 2.16.4)
|
| OFFSPRING |
ARGOS PANOPTES (by Arestor) (combined Apollodorus 2.4 & Pausanias 2.16.4)
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ENCYCLOPEDIA
MYCE′NE (Mukênê), a daughter of Inachus and wife of Arestor, from whom the town of Mycenae or Mycene was believed to have derived its name. (Hom. Od. ii. 120; Paus. ii. 16. § 3.)
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
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Homer, Odyssey 2. 120 ff (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"Ladies of older times--the Akhaian (Achaean) ladies of braided tresses like Tyro and Alkmene and garlanded Mykene (Mycene)."
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 4 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Argos Panoptes . . . Pherekydes says that this one was Arestor's son."
[N.B. See Pausanias below, where Arestor's wife is named as Mykene.]
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 16. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Homer in the Odyssey mentions a woman Mykene (Mycene) [after whom Mykenai (Mycenae) was named] in the following verse:--‘Tyro and Alkmene and the fair-crowned lady Mykene.’
She is said to have been the daughter of Inakhos (Inachus) and the wife of Arestor in the poem which the Greeks call the Great Eoiai [of Hesiod]. So they say that this lady has given her name to the city."
Sources:
- Homer, The Odyssey - Greek Epic C9th-8th BC
- Apollodorus, The Library - Greek Mythography C2nd BC
- Pausanias, Guide to Greece - Greek Geography C2nd AD
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