Manto
heroDaughter of Tiresias and prophetess in her own right who was sent to Delphi as a war prize after Thebes fell.
The Myth
She inherited her father's prophetic gift — and the Greeks treated a prophetess as loot. Manto was Tiresias's daughter, trained in divination from childhood. When the Epigoni sacked Thebes, they dedicated the finest spoils to Apollo at Delphi, and Manto was among them. She served as prophetess there before being sent to Colophon in Asia Minor, where she founded an oracle. Her son Mopsus became the seer who defeated Calchas in a prophecy contest, causing Calchas to die. The prophetic lineage passed from Tiresias through Manto to Mopsus — three generations of seers. Virgil may have named Mantua (Mantova) after her.
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Fun Fact
Virgil's birthplace Mantua may be named after Manto — making a prophetess the namesake of the poet's home.
Explore Further
Mopsus (Seer)
heroSon of Manto and grandson of Tiresias who defeated the great seer Calchas in a divination contest,...
Tiresias
heroThe most famous seer in Greek mythology, blinded by the gods but given the gift of prophecy in...
Calchas
heroChief seer of the Greek army at Troy who interpreted omens, demanded Iphigenia's sacrifice, and...
Apollo Loxias
godAn epithet of Apollo meaning "the Oblique One," referring to the deliberately ambiguous nature of...
Teiresias
heroTiresias was the blind seer of Thebes who experienced life as both man and woman, was blinded by...
Teiresias (Prophet)
heroBlind Theban prophet who lived seven generations and was the only mortal to experience life as both...
Apollo
godGod of light, music, poetry, and prophecy. Apollo embodied the Greek ideal of youthful masculine...
Apollo (Light)
godApollo was the most complex Olympian — god of light, music, poetry, prophecy, healing, plague, and...
Delphi
placeThe most important oracle in ancient Greece, where the Pythia delivered Apollo's prophecies. The...
Delphi Treasury of Athens
placeThe marble treasury built by Athens at Delphi from Marathon spoils, the best-preserved building on...
Epigoni
conceptThe sons of the Seven against Thebes who returned a generation later and successfully sacked the...
Thebes
placeThebes was the great city of Boeotia, founded by Cadmus who sowed dragon teeth, and the setting for...