In
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
, Melanthus ( grc, Μέλανθος) was a king of
Messenia
Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...
and son of
Andropompus In Greek mythology, Andropompus (Ancient Greek: ''Ανδρόχόμχος'') was one of the descendants of Neleus, king of Thessaly, as son of Penthilus and Anchirhoe. He was the father of King Melanthus of Athens.
See also
* Borus
* Lebedus
* Sef ...
and
Henioche In Greek mythology, the name Henioche (; Ancient Greek: ''Ἡνιόχη,'' fem. of ''ἠνίοχος'' "charioteer") may refer to:
*Henioche, surname of Hera in Lebadea.
*Henioche or Eniocha, wife of King Creon of Thebes according to some auth ...
.
Mythology
Melanthus was among the descendants of
Neleus (the
Neleidae) expelled from Messenia, by the descendants of
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
, as part of the legendary "
Return of the Heracleidae", later associated with the supposed "
Dorian invasion".
Melanthus fled to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, along with other of the expelled Neleidae,
Alcmaeon and the sons of
Paeon. Melanthus later became a
king of Athens
Before the Athenian democracy, the tyrants, and the Archons, the city-state of Athens was ruled by kings. Most of these are probably mythical or only semi-historical. The following lists contain the chronological order of the title King of Athens ( ...
, the successor of
Thymoetes
In Greek mythology, there were at least three people named Thymoetes (; Ancient Greek: Θυμοίτης ''Thumoítēs'').
*Thymoetes, one of the elders of Troy (also spelled Thymoetus) and also a Trojan prince as the son of King Laomedon. A sooth ...
, succeeded by
Codrus
Codrus (; ; Greek: , ''Kódros'') was the last of the semi-mythical Kings of Athens (r. ca 1089– 1068 BC). He was an ancient exemplar of patriotism and self-sacrifice. He was succeeded by his son Medon, who it is claimed ruled not as king but ...
. Codrus was considered to be a forefather to the Greek philosopher
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
. According to
Diogenes Laertius
Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal sour ...
who cited
Thrasylus as his source, Codrus and Melanthus also trace their descent from Poseidon.
[Diogenes Laertius Plato 1]
Melanthus was also a shipmate of
Acoetes who attempted to kidnap
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...
.
Notes
References
*
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to:
*Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium''
*Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC
* Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...
, ''Description of Greece''. W. H. S. Jones (translator).
Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. (1918). Vol. 1. Books I–II: .
External links
Reference in Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
Kings in Greek mythology
Ancient Greek rulers
{{Greek-myth-stub
Family of Plato