Parthenope was the daughter of Ginone (the wife of Jove) and Minerva. Her large black eyes, soft lips, fair complexion and graceful figure made her extremely beautiful.
She lived in Greece, in a village overlooking the Ionian Sea. She had a livid imagination and spent long hours sitting on the rocks looking at the sea, dreaming of foreign lands. One day her destiny was decided. Because her father forbade her to continue to see the young Cimone, she ran away with him.
Eternally united, they set out on a voyage of adventure, unheeding of the difficulties they encountered. Wherever they went they carried with them a message of love, and nature itself rejoiced, so that every place they went to became green with vegetation. They came to a land which was their final destination, a land which was so pleasant and welcoming that it was not long before the news of such a paradise spread all over the Mediterranean. So many peoples loaded up all their possessions and went in search of this fabled shore.
At first their built their huts on the hill, and as the number of peoples increased, new villages appeared on the plains and on the coast. Artisans opened workshops and walls were built to protect the town. Parthenope was loved and respected by all for her compassion and the loyalty she never ceased to demonstrate, and everyone respected the laws she established.
"All of this is the work of Parthenope ... she is the mother of the people, the humane and merciful queen... it is to her that we owe everything, our laws, our customs, from her we have learnt the example of faith and compassion. When Parthenope comes to sit on the rock of Mount Echia, when she looks out at the Tyrrhenian, which is more loyal that the Ionian, her soul merges into a thought. The Unknown has been reached, the admirable and the indefinable have been created, its is a reality, and it is all the work of Parthenope.
There are many different opinions about the whereabouts of her tomb, though in fact many believe that she is still living, that she still runs over the hills and roams the shores. "She is the one who intoxicates our city with light and colour, who makes the sea glow, the town overflow with joy; she it is who makes us pine and turn pale with love ... Parthenope is love, and Naples is the city of love".
(Neapolitan Legends, Matilde Serao)