In the

ancient world Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

, Thynia (, ) was a region of Europe along the northern coast of the

Propontis The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

, opposite

Bithynia Bithynia (; ) was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast a ...

on the Asian side.W.H.Race, ''Apollonius Rhodius: Argonautica'', Loeb Classical Library (2008), introductory maps It was originally occupied by the

Thyni The Thyni (; ) were a Thracian tribe that lived in south-eastern Thrace. The Thyni were closely related to the Bithynians, with whom they often exchanged troops and royal marriages, later a section of the Thyni, along with the Bithyni, migrated to ...

, a

Thracian The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...

people who came from

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

. Note that in the Middle Ages,

Mesothynia The Kocaeli Peninsula () lies in the northwest corner of Anatolia, Turkey, separating the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the Asian side of the strait of Bosphorus. Approximately one-third of Istanbul, one of the most populous cities of the wo ...

("middle Thynia") was the peninsula of modern Kocaeli. According to Greek mythology, its name came from Thyneas (Θυνέας) son of Phineas (Φινέας). In the

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' () is a Greek literature, Greek epic poem written by Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only entirely surviving Hellenistic civilization, Hellenistic epic (though Aetia (Callimachus), Callim ...

(Book 2),

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

and the Argonauts are turned aside from the Clashing Rocks at Bithynia, and go to the opposite coast to consult King Phineus.

Notes

Geography of ancient Thrace Historical regions {{AncientThrace-geo-stub