Themisto of Argos
In Greek mythology, Themisto (/θəˈmɪstoʊ/; Ancient Greek: Θεμιστώ, romanized: Themistṓ, lit. 'belonging to the law or customs'[1]) was the daughter of the river god Inachus and the mother of Arcas by Zeus.[2]
In other accounts, the usual birth mother of Arcas was called Callisto, daughter of Lycaon or else Megisto, daughter of Ceteus,[3] both women were members of the Arcadian royal family.
Modern interpretation
[edit]One author speculates that Themisto was born on Phoroneus (later called Argos) in 1760 BC to Inachus and Argia (Melia) who were residing near the upstreams of Cephisus River near Mt. Parnassus. She was the youngest sister of Phoroneus, Aegialeus (Aezeius) and Mycene.
In 1740 BC, by an unnamed consort, Themisto bore a son named Arcas (a different character from the eponym of Arcadia). Later on, this Arcas married his maternal cousin, Niobe, daughter of King Phoroneus, and fathered two sons, Argus, eponymous ruler of Argos, and Pelasgus who became an ancestor of the Arcadian ruling family.[4]
Notes
[edit]- ^ "User-submitted name Themisto - Behind the Name". www.behindthename.com. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
- ^ Eustathius ad Homer, Iliad p. 300; Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Arcadia (Ἀρκαδία); Pseudo-Clement, Recognitions 10.21
- ^ Hyginus, De astronomia 2.1.6, and 2.6.2, with Araethus of Tegea as authority
- ^ Miyano, Kengo. "Themisto". Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Greeks.
References
[edit]- Pseudo-Clement, Recognitions from Ante-Nicene Library Volume 8, translated by Smith, Rev. Thomas. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. 1867. Online version at theio.com
- Stephanus of Byzantium, Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum quae supersunt, edited by August Meineike (1790–1870), published 1849. A few entries from this important ancient handbook of place names have been translated by Brady Kiesling. Online version at the Topos Text Project.