On the Origins of the Mynians of the Argonautica

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to determine who were the Mynians, when does the term come into the Greek tradition and from what period on can we assume it was generalized to mean Argonauts in general.

Based on the Ancient sources, the eponym of the Mynians was the legendary king of Orchomenus, Minyas. It can be said that, at the beginning, the Mynians were one of the tribes living around Orchomenus in Boeotia, who spread to different Greek regions over the course of time. From a certain period onwards, in Greek poetic tradition, the name of the Mynians became a general term denoting the Argonauts, becoming associated with Pelasgians. Though, this fact doesn’t indicate that Ancient sources considered them non-Greek. The usage of the word “Mynians” to signify Hellenes must belong to relatively later period, given that in the works of Apollonius Rhodes, the homeland of the Mynians is Hellada but the author doesn’t refer to them as Hellenes, Achaeans, Danaans or Argives.