:Tenea

Tenea was the most important place in ancient Corinthia after the city of Corinth and its port towns. It was situated 60{{nbsp}}stadia south of Corinth, according to Pausanias,{{Cite Pausanias|2|5|4}} hence the southern gate of Corinth was called the Teneatic. Stephanus of Byzantium describes Tenea as lying between Corinth and Mycenae.{{Cite Stephanus|s.v. Τενέα}} Pausanias says that the Teneatae claimed descent from the inhabitants of Tenedos, who were brought over from Troy as prisoners, and settled by Agamemnon in this part of Corinthia. It was in consequence of their Trojan origin that they worshipped Apollo above all the other gods. Strabo also mentions here the temple of Apollo Teneates and says that Tenea and Tenedos had a common origin in Tennes, the son of Cycnus.{{Cite Strabo|viii. p.380}} It was at Tenea that Oedipus was said to have passed his childhood. It was also from this place that Archias took majority of the colonists with whom he founded Syracuse. After the destruction of Corinth by Lucius Mummius Achaicus, Tenea had the good fortune to continue undisturbed, because it is said to have assisted the Romans against Corinth. It cannot be assumed that an insignificant place like Tenea could have acted in opposition to Corinth and the Achaean League. Instead, it is more probable that the Teneatae were spared by Mummius in consequence of their claimed Trojan descent and consequent affinity with the Romans themselves.

File:Apollo of Tenea Glyptothek Munich 168.jpg with the archaic smile]]

File:Apollo tim pushkin.jpg of Tenea in the Pushkin Museum]]

Ruins of ancient Tenea are one kilometre south of Chiliomodi. Some archaeological finds are housed in the Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth. The most famous find, the Kouros of Tenea {{nowrap|({{circa}} 550 BC),}} was found near Athikia in 1846 and is in the Munich Glyptothek. It is a high-quality example of 6th century BC Greek sculpture and of the so-called AegineteanHarold North Fowler, A History of Sculpture or archaic smile.

In 1984, archaeologists discovered a sarcophagus from the Greek early archaic period containing the remains of a high-society woman along with offerings.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/11/13/lost-ancient-city-built-by-trojan-war-captives-has-been-found-greek-officials-say/ A lost ancient city built by Trojan War captives has been found, Greek officials say]. The Washington post, 2018-11-13.

In 2013, a team of archaeologists led by Elena Korka began to excavate a site in the area where Tenea was thought to have been, in search of the remains of the city. In 2017, they announced the discovery of a dual-chambered tomb containing fourteen graves, along with coins, gold and bronze artefacts, glassware, and pottery. In 2018, the Greek Ministry of Culture announced that the team had found proof of the existence of Tenea. The archeologists found evidence of long-term occupation of the settlement, perhaps from as early as the Mycenaean period up to the Roman occupation of Greece.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/18/world/europe/ancient-greece-city-tenea.html|title=Rich, Ancient City Is Unearthed in Greece|last=Magra|first=Iliana|date=2018-11-18|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-30|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} In 2019, a large bath complex was discovered, covering around {{convert|500|m2}}. The complex dated to between the late-3rd and mid-1st century{{nbsp}}BC.{{cite web|url=https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/37285-ancient-bath-complex-unearthed-in-greece%E2%80%99s-lost-city-of-tenea.html|title=Ancient bath complex unearthed in Greece's lost city of Tenea|website=tornosnews.gr|date=22 October 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/245758/gallery/ekathimerini/in-images/ancient-tenea-yields-secrets|title=Ancient Tenea yields secrets|website=ekathimerini.com|date=23 October 2019}}

The municipal unit of Tenea is subdivided into the following communities, with constituent villages indicated in brackets:

• Agionori
• Agios Vasileios
• Chiliomodi
• Klenia
• Koutalas (Koutalas, Mapsos, Spathovouni)
• Stefani

{{commons}}

• List of traditional Greek place names

{{reflist}}

{{DGRG|title=Tenea}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070107033712/http://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/comm544/library/images/831.html Kouros of Tenea]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051218164911/http://www.texaschapbookpress.com/magellanslog8/apollooftenea.htm Apollo of Tenea]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050405014015/http://www.tenea.gr/index.htm Municipality of Tenea]
• [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198;query=chapter%3D%2317;layout=;loc=8.5.1 Strabo, Book 8]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110622073504/http://www.tenea.gr/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=82&lang=en Gallery] and description [in Greek] of monuments in and around Tenea.
• Korka, Eleni; Lefantzis, Michalis; Corso, Antonio. [http://actual-art.org/files/sb/09/KorkaLefantzisCorso.pdf Archaeological Discoveries from Tenea.] Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: Collection of articles. Vol. 9. Ed: A. V. Zakharova, S. V. Maltseva, E. Iu. Staniukovich-Denisova. Lomonosov Moscow State University / St. Petersburg: NP-Print, 2019, pp. 172–179. ISSN 2312-2129

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Tenea

|North = Assos-Lechaio

|Northeast = Corinth

|East = Saronikos

|Southeast =

|South = Mykines

|Southwest =

|West = Nemea

|Northwest = Vocha

}}

{{Corinth div}}

Category:Populated places in ancient Corinthia

Category:Former populated places in Greece

Category:Cities in ancient Peloponnese

Category:Locations in Greek mythology

Category:Populated places in Corinthia

Category:Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC

Category:Trojan colonies

Category:Greek city-states