Sinis - The Basics on Sinis the Pine-Bender

Definition: The Greek hero Theseus killed a man named Sinis near the beginning of his heroic career. Generally treated as a villain, Sinis is thought to have lived on the Isthmus of Corinth by the cliffs of Sceiron. He may have been related to the royal house of Corinth and possibly Troezen, as well, making him a blood relative of Theseus. Bacchylides calls Sinis a son of Poseidon.

Sinis asked passers-by to help him bend pine trees to the ground, perhaps challenging them to a contest first. He would then bind the loser's wrists to bent trees which would then revert to their upright positions and in the process toss or tear apart and kill the victims. Theseus encountered Sinis on his journey from Troezen to Athens after he had killed the so-called "club-man" Periphetes by using the club-man's club on him. That was in Epidaurus. Similarly, Theseus used the pine-bender's own trees to kill him (alternately, Theseus pierced Sinis with the sword the hero's father had left for him). Theseus then ravished Sinis' daughter, Perigune, who later bore a son Melanippus.

"Theseus, Sinis, and the Isthmian Games," by E. M. W. Tillyard. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 33, (1913), pp. 296-312.

Also Known As: The Pine-bender