The Cicones (also Kikones) were a Thracian tribe, whose stronghold in the time of Odysseus was the city of Ismara (or Ismaros), located at the foot of mount Ismara, on the south coast of Thrace. They are mentioned in book two of the Iliad as having joined the war on the side of the Trojans, being led by Euphemos.
In book nine of the Odyssey, Odysseus and his men take Ismara by surprise and slay most of the Ciconian men they come across, but later Ciconian reinforcements arrive and attack the invading Achaians, slaying so many of them that Odysseus and his men are forced to flee in their ships, with the numbers of their shipmates greatly reduced.
