In
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
, Perigune () was the daughter of
Sinis. Her name is also spelled Perigouna or Perigone. She is passingly mentioned as Perigenia in Shakespeare's ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...
''.
Mythology
Perigune is mentioned in only a few sources and the details are sparse. The most extensive surviving account comes from
Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
, who states that, after
Theseus
Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages.
Theseus is sometimes desc ...
killed her father, she hid herself in a bed of rushes and
asparagus
Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable.
Description ...
. When Theseus promised not to harm her, she emerged from hiding. She then bore Theseus
Melanippus
:''The name Melanippus is the masculine counterpart of Melanippe.''
In Greek mythology, there were several people named Melanippus ():
*Melanippus, one of the sons of Agrius and possibly Dia, daughter of King Porthaon of Calydon. Along with his ...
, who became the ancestor of the Ioxides of
Caria
Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...
. These people, Plutarch states, revered the asparagus and the rush and did not burn them. Afterwards Theseus gave her to
Deioneus
In Greek mythology, Deioneus (; Ancient Greek: Δηιονεύς means "ravager") or Deion (; Ancient Greek: ) is a name attributed to the following individuals:
*Deioneus, king of Phocis and son of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of ...
of
Oechalia Oechalia (ancient Greek: Οἰχαλία) may refer to:
;places
* Oechalia (Aetolia), a town of ancient Aetolia, Greece
* Oechalia (Arcadia), a town of ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Oechalia (Euboea), a town of ancient Euboea, Greece
*Oechalia (Messeni ...
.
Pausanias also mentions that Theseus fathered Melanippus with the daughter of Sinis, but gives no further details. In the ''
Deipnosophistae
The ''Deipnosophistae'' (, ''Deipnosophistaí'', lit. , where ''sophists'' may be translated more loosely as ) is a work written in Ancient Greek by Athenaeus of Naucratis. It is a long work of Greek literature, literary, Ancient history, h ...
'' of
Athenaeus
Athenaeus of Naucratis (, or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; ) was an ancient Greek rhetorician and Grammarian (Greco-Roman), grammarian, flourishing about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century ...
she – again referred to only as the daughter of Sinis – is listed as one of the women taken by Theseus. Athenaeus cites the fourteenth book of
Istrus
The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...
's ''Attika'' as the source of the information.
[Athenaeus, ''Deipnosophistae']
13.4
(=causabon page 557a).
References
Bibliography
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* {{cite book , last=Shakespeare , first=William , title=The Works of Shakespeare , volume=2 , year=1842 , publisher=Whittaker & Co. , url=https://archive.org/details/workswilliamsha13unkngoog/page/n8/mode/2up
Women in Greek mythology