Percote was a town or city
on the southern (Asian) side of the Hellespont
, to the northeast of Troy
.
Percote is mentioned a few times in
Greek mythology, where it plays a very minor
role each time. It was said to be the home of a notable seer named
Merops, also its ruler. Merops was the father
of
Arisbe (the first wife of King
Priam, and subsequently wife of King
Hyrtacus),
Cleite (wife of
King
Cyzicus), and two sons named
Amphius and
Adrastus who
fought during the
Trojan War. As an ally
of Troy, Percote sent a contingent to help King Priam during the
Trojan War - though this contingent was led not by Merops's sons,
but by
Asius, son of
Hyrtacus, according to
Homer's
Iliad. The Meropidae (Amphius and Adrastus)
instead lead a contingent from nearby
Adrastea. A nephew of Priam, named
Melanippus, son of
Hicetaon, herded cattle (oxen) at Percote,
according to Homer.
Percote was no longer in existence during the time of
Strabo, and in his
Geography he mentions
that the exact location of Percote on the Hellespont shore is
unknown. Strabo also claims that Percote was originally called
Percope, and that it was part of the
Troad.
The inhabitants of Percote (and neighboring places like Arisbe and
Adrastea) were apparently neither Trojan or Dardanian, and the
origins of the Meropidae and Hyrtacidae are unclear.