Melite (heroine)

In Greek mythology, Melite /ˈmɛlᵻtiː/ (Ancient Greek: Μελίτη), daughter of Myrmex or Dius the son of Apollo, was the eponym of the deme Melite in Attica.^[1] According to a scholiast on Aristophanes, Melite was a lover of Heracles who was initiated into the lesser mysteries during his stay in Attica; there was a temple of Heracles the Protector from Evil (Alexikakos) in the deme Melite.^[2] Heracles and Melite have been recognized in the figures portrayed alongside Demeter on the right half of the west pediment of the Parthenon.^[3]

Melite was also said to have been a companion of Poseidon.^[4]

References

1. Harpocration s. v. Melite (= Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, 1. 396, frg. 74), Photius, Lexicon s. v. Melite; Suda, s. v. Melite, with references to Hesiod and Musaeus
2. Scholia on Aristophanes, Frogs, 501
3. Roscher, s. 2644
4. Scholia on Plato, Parmenides, 1

Sources

• Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (ed.): Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie. Band 2. 2 (L - M), Leipzig, 1894 - 1897, ss. 2643 - 2644, u. Melite 5)