In the
ancient world
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
, Thynia (, el, Θυνία) was a region of Europe along the northern coast of the
Propontis
The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...
, opposite
Bithynia
Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') 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 sout ...
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 ( el, Θυνοί) 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 ...
, a
Thracian
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...
people who came from
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
. Note that in the Middle Ages,
Mesothynia
The Kocaeli Peninsula ( tr, Kocaeli Yarımadası) 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 ...
("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'' ( el, Ἀργοναυτικά , translit=Argonautika) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the ''Argonautica'' tells the myth of the voyage of Jas ...
(Book 2),
Jason
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek mythology, mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was marri ...
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