In Greek legendary

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

, Messene (;

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 p ...

: Μεσσήνη) was the daughter of

Triopas In Greek mythology, Triopas () or Triops (; grc, Τρίωψ, gen.: Τρίοπος) was the name of several characters whose relations are unclear. * Triopas, king of Argos and son of Phorbas. His daughter was Messene. * Triopas, king of Thessa ...

, king of Argos (or, alternately, daughter of

Phorbas In Greek mythology, Phorbas (; Ancient Greek: Φόρβας ''Phórbās'', gen. Φόρβαντος ''Phórbantos'' means "giving pasture"), or Phorbaceus , may refer to: * Phorbas of Elis, son of Lapithes and Orsinome, and a brother of Periphas. ...

and sister of Triopas). She was married to

Polycaon In Greek mythology, the name Polycaon (; Ancient Greek: Πολυκάων means ''"much-burning"'') may refer to the following individuals: *Polycaon, son of Lelex, king of Laconia, by the Naiad nymph, Cleochareia. Polycaon married an ambitious wom ...

, son of king

Lelex In Greek mythology, Lelex (; Ancient Greek: Λέλεξ, ''gen.'' Λέλεγος) was one of the original inhabitants of Laconia which was called after him, its first king, Lelegia. Mythology Lelex was said to be autochthonous or his father ...

, of

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, con ...

Mythology

Messene was said to have been very ambitious. After her father-in-law died, her husband's brother

Myles In Greek mythology, Myles (; Ancient Greek: Μύλης means 'mill-man') was an ancient king of Laconia. He was the son of the King Lelex and possibly the naiad Queen Cleocharia, and brother of Polycaon. Myles was the father of Eurotas who beg ...

inherited the throne to Laconia. It was not her intent to be wed to an anonymous man, so she went about gathering an armed force from both Argos and Laconia. Once their army was ready, the newly married couple invaded a nearby territory. This territory was then named

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...

, after the aggressive princess of Argos. Following the establishment of the new kingdom, they founded the city

Andania Andania ( el, Ανδανία) is a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Oichalia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 88.694&n ...

, where they built their palace. Glaucus, the son of

Aepytus Aepytus (Ancient Greek: Αἵπυτος) can refer to several people in Greek mythology: * Aepytus, king of Arcadia and son of Elatus. * Aepytus, also a king of Arcadia and son of Hippothous. * Aepytus, son of the Heraclid Cresphontes. Apo ...

and grandson of

Cresphontes In Greek mythology, Cresphontes (; grc, Κρεσφόντης) was a son of Aristomachus, husband of Merope, father of Aepytus and brother of Temenus and Aristodemus. He was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and fi ...

, established a

hero cult Hero cults were one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion. In Homeric Greek, "hero" (, ) refers to the mortal offspring of a human and a god. By the historical period, however, the word came to mean specifically a ''dead'' ma ...

of Messene. There was a heroon of her in Messenia with a statue of gold and

Parian marble Parian marble is a fine-grained semi translucent pure-white and entirely flawless marble quarried during the classical era on the Greek island of Paros in the Aegean Sea. It was highly prized by ancient Greeks for making sculptures. Some of the ...

. It is estimated that the story took place in 10th century B.C. Pausanias remarks that he checked through ''

The Great Ehoiai The ''Megalai Ehoiai'' ( grc, Μεγάλαι Ἠοῖαι, ), or ''Great Ehoiai'', is a fragmentary Greek epic poem that was popularly, though not universally, attributed to Hesiod during antiquity. Like the more widely read Hesiodic '' Catalogue ...

'', '' Naupactica'' and the works of Cinaethon and

Asius of Samos Asius of Samos ( grc-gre, Ἄσιος ὁ Σάμιος, ''Asios ho Samios'') was an ancient Greek poet whose work survives in the form of fragments quoted by other ancient authors. All that is known about the man is that he was from Samos and that ...

in search for information concerning children of Polycaon and Messene, but found no relevant information.Pausanias, 4.2.2

Notes

References

* 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, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library

External links

{{Women-hist-stub Greek mythological heroes Princesses in Greek mythology Queens in Greek mythology Inachids Women in ancient Greek warfare Characters in Greek mythology Laconian mythology Messenian mythology 10th-century BC women Ancient Greek queens consort