Antenor (Trojan)
In Greek mythology, Antenor was a counselor to King Priam of Troy during the events of the Trojan War.
Description
Antenor was described by the chronicler Malalas in his account of the Chronography as "tall, thin, white, blond, small-eyed, hook-nosed, crafty, cowardly, secure, a story-teller, eloquent". Meanwhile, in the account of Dares the Phrygian, he was illustrated as "...tall, graceful, swift, crafty, and cautious."Family
Antenor was variously named as the son of the Dardanian noble Aesyetes by Cleomestra or of Hicetaon. He was the husband of Theano, daughter of Cisseus of Thrace, who bore him at least one daughter, Crino, and numerous sons, including Acamas, Agenor, Antheus, Archelochus, Coön, Demoleon, Eurymachus, Glaucus, Helicaon, Iphidamas, Laodamas, Laodocus, Medon, Polybus and Thersilochus. He was also the father of a bastard son, Pedaeus, by an unknown woman. According to numerous scholars, Antenor was actually related to Priam.Mythology
Antenor was one of the wisest of the Trojan elders and counsellors. In the Homeric account of the Trojan War, Antenor advised the Trojans to return Helen to her husband and otherwise proved sympathetic to a negotiated peace with the Greeks. In later developments of the myths, particularly per Dares and Dictys, Antenor was made an open traitor, unsealing the city gates to the enemy. As payment, his house—marked by a panther skin over the door—was spared during the sack of the city.His subsequent fate varied across the authors. He was said to have rebuilt a city on the site of Troy; to have settled at Cyrene; the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea; or to have founded Patavium, Korčula, or other cities in eastern Italy.
According to the origin legend of the Franks, he is said to have led a group of Trojans north and settled near the Maeotian Swamp, and the Maeotian lake, now known as the Sea of Azov. Other sources such as the 'Compendium sive breviarium primi voluminis annalium sive historiarum de origine regum et gentis Francorum' of Johannes Trithemius attempt to show that they are the same as the Cimmerians.
In literature
- Antenor appears briefly in Homer's Iliad. In Book 3 he is present when Helen identifies for Priam each of the Greek warriors from the wall of Troy; when she describes Odysseus, Antenor confirmed her account, alluded to how he entertained Odysseus and Menelaus and got to know both. In the same book, he accompanied Priam to the front line and bore witness of the King's speech before the duel between Menelaus and his son, Paris. In Book 7, as mentioned above, he advises the Trojans to give Helen back, but Paris refuses to yield.
- Antenor is mentioned in Vergil's Aeneid in book 1, line 243, when Venus tells Jupiter that Antenor had escaped from the fall of Troy and founded Patavium, modern Padua.
- In Dictys Cretensis' Ephemeris belli Troiani, Antenor and Aeneas betray the Trojans to help the Greeks, ruling over the remains of Troy once the Greeks have left.
- In Dares Phrygius' de excidio Trojae historia, Antenor betrays Troy to the Greeks.
- In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, Antenor and his followers were banished from Troy, and settled on the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea; Brutus of Troy later discovers several nations descended from them living there, led by Corineus.
- In Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, Antenor appears as a minor, non-speaking, character who has been taken prisoner by the Greeks but is returned by them in exchange for Criseyde.
- The circle Antenora is named after him in the poem Inferno in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. It is located in Hell's Circle of Treachery which is reserved for traitors of cities, countries, and political parties.
- Antenor is one of the characters in Jan Kochanowski's tragedy The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys, set before the Trojan War.
- Antenor appears as a character in William Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida, set during the Trojan War.
- Antenor is ironically misidentified by Albert Bloch, a bumbling, pretentious character in Marcel Proust's novel The Guermantes Way as the son of the river god Alpheus, probably confusing him with Antinous, with whom Alpheus is associated.