Melantho (Odyssey)

In Greek mythology, Melantho (/mɪˈlænθoʊ/; Ancient Greek: Μελανθώ) is one of the minor characters in the Odyssey.

For other uses, see Melantho.

Family

Melantho was the sister to Melanthios, a goatherd in Ithaca, and the daughter of Dolios.

Mythology

Described as having a "sharp tongue", Melantho was among the favorite female slaves of Penelope, treated like a daughter by her, having been given trinkets and other small gifts.[1] Despite having been much cared for by Penelope, Melantho was disloyal and ungrateful to Odysseus and his household. She was one of the female slaves who often sleep with the suitors of Penelope, a characteristic which is evident by her relationship with Eurymachus.[2]

Upon Odysseus's arrival in his own house, disguised as a beggar, Melantho treated him harshly and rudely asked why he has not gone to sleep in the smithy, the location where chance visitors in Ithaca tended to go.[3] After Odysseus kills all of the suitors, it's not clear if Melantho is among the other slave girls that are forced to clean the hall and then hanged by Telemachus.[4]

Notes
  1. Homer, Odyssey 18.322
  2. Homer, Odyssey 18.325
  3. Homer, Odyssey 18.326 ff. & 19.65 ff.; also quoted in Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio 10.25.1
  4. Homer, Odyssey 22.458–470

References
  • Homer, The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. ISBN 978-0674995611. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
  • Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. ISBN 0-674-99328-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
  • Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.


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