OENONE (nymph and wife of Paris)

When Alexander was wounded, Oenone advised him against sailing to retrieve Helen and instructed him to visit her if he sustained a wound.^4,5 She claimed she was the only person capable of healing Alexander, possessing the unique ability to cure his arrow wound.^4,5 However, she refused to cure Alexander because she was holding a grudge against him.⁴ Oenone replied haughtily that Alexander should seek help from Helen instead.⁵

Oenone traveled quickly to the location where Alexander was lying sick.⁵ She arrived to find Alexander already dead on the ground.⁵ Upon discovering his death, Oenone raised a great cry and engaged in long and bitter mourning.⁵ Oenone wept with anguished pain and miserable moans.¹

After discovering Alexander was already dead, Oenone hanged herself.^4,5 Accounts differ regarding the circumstances of her death, with some claiming she was not the mother of the child in question.⁶ She was burned on a pyre together with Paris, and her ashes were mixed with his to form a single heap.³ The Nymphs quenched the embers of her pyre with wine.³

Her bones were placed inside a wide golden vase.³ An earth mound was piled over her remains in the region of Cebrenia.^3,2 Two pillars were set up that forever turn away from each other, said to hold the memory of her old jealousy.³ Oinone is associated with the island of Cyprus in this poetic context.⁷