Comaetho

Comaetho is the name of two women in Greek mythology, each remembered for a love that ended in death. One was the daughter of Pterelaus, king of the Taphians, who betrayed her father out of love for Amphitryon. The other was a priestess of Artemis at Patrae in Achaea, who was sacrificed with her lover Melanippus.

Comaetho, Daughter of Pterelaus

The Taphians and the Golden Hair

Poseidon carried off Hippothoe, a granddaughter of Perseus, and fathered Taphius on her; Taphius colonised the island of Taphos and called its people Teleboans. Taphius had a son, Pterelaus, whom Poseidon made immortal by implanting a golden hair in his head (Apollodorus 2.4.5). Pterelaus had six sons, and a daughter, Comaetho (Apollodorus 2.4.5, 2.4.7).

Amphitryon’s War

The sons of Pterelaus came to Mycenae and claimed the kingdom of Mestor; when Electryon paid no attention, they drove off his cattle, and in the fight that followed the sons of Electryon and of Pterelaus killed each other, all but Licymnius and Everes. Electryon was then accidentally killed by Amphitryon, who fled to Thebes with Alcmena; there, supported by allies from Athens, Phocis, Argolis and Thebes, he led an army against the islands of the Taphians (Apollodorus 2.4.6–7). So long as Pterelaus lived, he could not take Taphos. Comaetho, falling in love with Amphitryon, pulled out the golden hair from her father’s head, and Pterelaus died (Apollodorus 2.4.7). The hair was the gift of Poseidon that kept him immortal.

Her End

With the king dead, Amphitryon subdued all the islands. He then killed Comaetho and sailed to Thebes with the booty, giving the islands to Heleus and Cephalus, who founded cities there (Apollodorus 2.4.7). A very similar story is told of Scylla, daughter of Nisus of Megara, who fell in love with Minos and pulled out the purple hair on which her father’s life depended (Apollodorus 3.15.8).

Comaetho, Priestess of Artemis at Patrae

The Temple of Artemis Triclaria

Pausanias describes a precinct and temple of Artemis, with the surname Triclaria, shared by the Ionians who lived in Aroe, Antheia and Mesatis. They held an all-night festival every year, and the priest of the goddess was a maiden, who held the office until the time came for her to be sent to a husband (Pausanias 7.19.1). In the story he tells, the priestess was Comaetho, a most beautiful maiden, who had a lover called Melanippus, the finest of the young men. Melanippus asked her father for her hand, but both his own parents and hers refused, so although the two were eager to marry they met only harshness (Pausanias 7.19.2).

The Offence and the Sacrifice

The couple had their fill of love in the sanctuary of Artemis, and afterwards used it as their bridal chamber. The anger of the goddess began to destroy the people: the earth gave no harvest, and unusually fatal diseases appeared (Pausanias 7.19.3). When the Ionians asked the oracle at Delphi, the Pythian priestess accused Melanippus and Comaetho. The oracle ordered that they be sacrificed to Artemis themselves, and that every year the fairest youth and the fairest maiden be sacrificed to the goddess. The river beside the sanctuary was then called Ameilichus, “relentless” (Pausanias 7.19.4).

Eurypylus and Dionysus

Delphi had long since foretold that a foreign king would come to the land with a foreign god and put an end to the sacrifices. After the fall of Troy, Eurypylus, son of Euaemon, received a chest as his share of the spoils, which held an image of Dionysus. He opened it, went mad at the sight, and consulted the oracle at Delphi, which told him to settle where he found a people offering a strange sacrifice. His ships were carried to the coast near Aroe, where he found a youth and a maiden being led to the altar of Triclaria. The people recognised the king and the chest from their oracle, the sacrifice came to an end, and the river received its present name, Meilichus (Pausanias 7.19.6–9). The god inside the chest was called Aesymnetes (Pausanias 7.20.1).

Comaetho Sources

Apollodorus, Library 2.4.5–7, 3.15.8; Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.19.1–9, 7.20.1.

See Also: Amphitryon, Pterelaus, Poseidon, Melanippus, Artemis, Dionysus, Patrae, Delphi