Autonoe

Autonoe is attested in Greek genealogical tradition as one of the daughters of Cadmus, founder of Thebes, and Harmonia. In that role she appears in the Theban family-cycle as the wife of Aristaeus and mother of Actaeon (with some sources adding Macris as a possible daughter). Separately, the name Autonoe occurs in extant catalogues of the fifty Nereids, where she is listed as a daughter of the sea-god Nereus and the Oceanid Doris. The sources provided do not present an origin narrative that unifies the Theban Autonoe with the Nereid Autonoe; they are best treated as distinct namesakes or variant local traditions.

No ancient sources in the provided material give a descriptive portrait of Autonoe in either the Theban or Nereid context. Ancient attestations record her by genealogical placement and name only; therefore no details of dress, features, or iconography are preserved in the cited sources.

Ancient sources cited here do not attribute individual supernatural powers, specialized domains, or cultic offices to Autonoe beyond her genealogical and narrative roles. As mother and daughter within the Cadmean family she functions narratively (producing Actaeon, relating to other daughters like Semele, Ino, and Agave). As a Nereid-name in lists, Autonoe would belong generically to the class of sea-nymphs, though no specific acts, interventions, or deeds are recorded for her in the provided materials.