Theano was the priestess of
Athena in
Troy. She was the daughter of the
Thracian king
Cisseus and
Telecleia, wife of
Antenor, and mother of many sons and a daughter
Crino. The household of Antenor and Theano advocated peace and advised
Helen's return to the Greeks. Because of their support (some say treason), the Greeks spared their household when they sacked the city. One story has Theano and Antenor sailing with
Aeneas to Italy and founding the city of
Padua. Another story is that she took the
Palladium, an image of Athena that had fallen from the sky and supposedly provided Troy its protection, with her. In Book VI of the
Iliad, with
Hecuba and the Trojan women, Theano offered a gift and plea to Athena for the life of the city, but was rebuffed.
