Ismenis Explained

In Greek mythology, Ismenis (Ancient Greek: Ἰσμηνίς) was a naiad nymph, one of the daughters of the Boeotian river god Ismenus:^[1] Ismenis is a patronymic rather than a given name.

Family

Given her parentage, Ismenis was probably the sister to other naiads: Dirce^[2], Strophia^[3] and Crocale^[4] . The younger Linus, the music teacher of Heracles, was possibly a brother of hers^[5] .

In Statius' Thebaid, Ismenis was the mother, by Pan, of Crenaeus, a defender of Thebes in the war of the Seven against Thebes.

Mythology

When Crenaeus was killed by Hippomedon whom he had challenged to single combat, Ismenis searched for his body which was carried away by the flow of River Ismenus, and, upon finding it, lamented her son's fate.^[6]

References

• Publius Papinius Statius, The Thebaid translated by John Henry Mozley. Loeb Classical Library Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Publius Papinius Statius, The Thebaid. Vol I-II. John Henry Mozley. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1928. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

Notes and References

1. [Statius]
2. [Euripides]
3. Callimachus, Hymn to Delos 76
4. [Ovid]
5. [Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]
6. Statius, Thebaid 9.318-403