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Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Athena Atlas Coeus Crius Cronus Demeter Dionysus Gaia Hades Hephaestus Hera Hermes Hestia Hyperion Iapetus Mnemosyne Oceanus Phobos Phoebe Poseidon Prometheus Rhea Tethys Themis Uranus Zeus
Bacchus Ceres Diana Juno Jupiter Mars Mercury Minerva Neptune Pluto Venus Vesta Vulcan
Amun Anubis Aten Atum Babi Bastet Bes Geb Hapi hathor heqet Horus Isis Khepri Khnum Khonsu Maat Nephthys Nut Osiris Ptah Ra Seshat Seth Shu Sobek Thoth
Alfheim Baldur Freya Freyr Frigg Heimdallr Helheim Idun Jotunheim Loki Nerthus Njord Odin Thor Tyr
Aengus Arawn Badb Brigid Cailleach Ceridwen Cernunnos Cu Chulainn Dagda Danu Gwydion Herne the Hunter Lugh Medb Morrigan Neit Nuada Taliesin Taranis
Chalchiuhtlicue Coatlicue Huitzilopochtli Mictlantecuhtli Mixcoatl Ometeotl Quetzalcoatl Tezcatlipoca Tlaloc Tonatiuh Xipe Totec Xochiquetzal Xolotl
Amaterasu Ame no Uzume Benzaiten Bishamonten Daikokuten Ebisu Fujin Fukurokuju Inari Izanagi Kagutsuchi Raijin Susanoo Tsukuyomi
Caishen Cangjie Dragon King Eight Immortals Erlang Shen Fuxi Guanyin Hou Yi Huxian Jade Emperor King Yama Leizi Lu-ban Mazu Nezha Nuwa Pangu Shennong Sun Wukong Xiwangmu Yue Lao Zhong Kui
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  1. Classical Mythology
    Pantheon Heroic Age Royal Houses Geographia Facts & Figures Genealogy Bibliography About Classical Myths
  2. Heroic Age
    Heroes 1 Heroes 2 Heroines Amazons Perseus Theseus Heracles Argonauts Calydonian Boar Hunt Seven Against Thebes Trojan War Odyssey Aeneid Tales of Lovers Giants Centaurs Mythical Creatures
  3. Amazons
    Background Myrina Otrere Hippolyte Antiope Melanippe Penthesileia Hippolyte (Melanippe or Glauce)
  4. Antiope

Antiope

There is some confusion over the name of the Amazon who became the wife of the Athenian hero Theseus, and the mother of Hippolytus. Some called her Hippolyta or Hippolyte (Ἱππολύτη), the same name as the Amazon queen who had owned the girdle, the cause of Heracles' labour, in which she was killed at Heracles' hand. Others said that her name was Antiope (Ἀντιόπη). Two other names were also associated with Theseus' Amazon wife: Melanippe (Μελανίππη) and Glauce (Γλαύκη). To avoid confusion, I would say that her name was Antiope, who was the sister of Hippolyte; Hippolyte was the one who was killed by Heracles over the girdle.

There are a number of versions that explained why Antiope lived in Athens with Theseus. Some said that Theseus went into the Amazon country with Heracles, while others said that the hero went alone or at least with his Lapith friend, Peirithous. Then there are the various versions which said that she was either abducted by Theseus, or that Antiope had fallen in love with the hero and betrayed her people.

When Antiope was living in Athens with Theseus as his wife, she gave birth to Hippolytus. Theseus sent their son to his mother Aethra and grandfather Pittheus, who were living in Troezen. Troezen was the birthplace of Theseus and the scene of Euripides' tragedy, titled Hippolytus.

Related Information

Name

Antiope, Ἀντιόπη; Hippolyta, Hippolyte, Ἱππολύτη; Glauce, Γλαύκη.
Melanippe, Μελανίππη – "Black Mare".

Sources

Parallel Lives on Theseus was written by Plutarch.

Metamorphoses was written by Ovid.

Library and the Epitome were written by Apollodorus.

Related Articles

Hippolyte, Melanippe, Theseus, Hippolytus, Heracles.

Jimmy Joe. "Antiope." https://timelessmyths.com/classical/heroic-age/amazons/antiope. Accessed May 11, 2025.
Jimmy Joe Timeless Myths

By Jimmy Joe

Amazons:

  • • Background
  • • Myrina
  • • Otrere
  • • Hippolyte
  • • Antiope
  • • Melanippe
  • • Penthesileia
  • • Hippolyte (Melanippe or Glauce)
Hippolyte

Hippolyte

There seemed to be a number of Amazon queens with the name Hippolyte or Hippolyta (Ἱππολύτη). Each one died by a different hand. The Hippolyte that I refer to in this article was the Amazon queen who owned the Girdle of Hippolyte. She was the quee...

January 1st, 2002 • Jimmy Joe
Hippolyte (Melanippe or Glauce)

Hippolyte (Melanippe or Glauce)

An Amazon Queen. This Hippolyte was also sometimes called Melanippe or Glauce. She shouldn't be confused with the Queen Hippolyte who the owner of golden girdle, which was one of the labours of Heracles. Hippolyte was possibly the daughter of Otre...

January 1st, 2002 • Jimmy Joe
Themiscyra

Themiscyra

Themiscyra was the principal city of the Amazons , and it was located on the Thermodon River that emptied into the Black Sea. Themiscyra is now called Termeh. The Amazons were a tribe of warrior women, said to have originated from Central Asia, an...

August 8th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Penthesileia

Penthesileia

An Amazon queen. Penthesileia was the daughter of the war god Ares and Otrere. Penthesileia was as superb and fierce a warrior as she was beautiful. Penthesileia killed another Amazon queen named Hippolyta or Hippolyte. Priam , the king of Troy, p...

January 1st, 2002 • Jimmy Joe
Otrere

Otrere

An Amazon Queen. Otrere was the mother of Penthesileia , and according to Quintus Smyrnaeus, in the Fall of Troy, the mother of Hippolyte (sometimes called Melanippe or Glauce).

January 1st, 2002 • Jimmy Joe
Melanippe

Melanippe

An Amazon warrior. Melanippe (Μελανίππη) was probably the same person as Antiope , sister of Hippolyte . She was also sometimes known as Glauce. According to Apollonius, Melanippe was the sister of the Amazon Queen Hippolyte , who ruled during the...

January 1st, 2002 • Jimmy Joe
Aegeus and Theseus

Aegeus and Theseus

Some writers said that Aegeus (Αἐγεύς) was the son of Pandion II, the exiled king of Athens, and Pylia, daughter of Pylas, but the usual tales said that Aegeus was only Pandion's adopted son. This version said that Aegeus was actually the son of S...

January 13th, 2001 • Jimmy Joe
Theseus

Theseus

Theseus, or Θησεύς, was the greatest hero from Athens. In many aspects he was like his more famous cousin Heracles , strong and extremely brave. Yet his courage and strength were matched with wisdom and compassion. Early Adventures War of the Lapi...

May 22nd, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Pittheus

Pittheus

King of Troezen. Pittheus was the son of Pelops and Hippodaemia . He was the brother of Troezen, Atreus , Thyestes , Alcathous, and several sisters. Originally the kingdom of Troezen was two separate towns, Hypereia and Antheia, when Pittheus and ...

August 23rd, 2003 • Jimmy Joe
Amazons

Amazons

The Amazons (Ἀμαζόνες) were a race of women warriors that hasn't only appeared in Greek mythology, but also in other cultures. The Amazons became popular subjects for writers and artists. They were fierce enemies or allies to many heroes in the cl...

January 1st, 2002 • Jimmy Joe

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