Melantho

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Melantho, also known as Melántho, is one of the minor characters in The Odyssey. She is a disloyal and ungrateful servant to Odysseus and his household, a characteristic which is evident by her relationship with Eurymachus, one of Penelope's suitors. Described by having a "sharp tongue". She is sister to Melanthius, a goatherd in Ithaca, and the daughter of Dolios. She is among the favorite maids of Penelope, who treated her like her own daughter, giving her trinkets and other small gifts. Upon Odysseus' arrival in his own house, dressed as a beggar, Melantho rates him harshly and rudely asks why he hasn't left to sleep in the smithy, the location chance visitors in Ithaca tended to go.

After Odysseus kills all of the suitors, Telemachus hangs Melantho along with the other unfaithful maids.