Melinoe
The Greek Goddess of Nightmares and Madness
Melinoe is a goddess of the underworld known mainly from the Orphic Hymn addressed to her, the seventy-first of the Orphic Hymns. The hymn calls her a nymph of the earth below, the daughter of Persephone and Zeus, who frightens mortals with phantoms in the night and drives them mad.
Who is Melinoe?
The Orphic Hymn to Melinoe addresses her as a saffron-robed nymph of the underworld. It says that Persephone gave birth to her beside the outflow of the river Cocytus, in the sacred bed of Zeus, son of Cronus. Her father is therefore Zeus, who came to Persephone in the likeness of Pluto (Plouton), Persephone’s husband, and deceived her (Orphic Hymns 71).
Family of Melinoe
- Parents
- Persephone, Zeus
Melinoe’s Attributes and Powers
The hymn says that she drives mortals mad with airy phantoms, showing herself in strange shapes, sometimes plainly visible and sometimes dark, appearing in the gloom of night. The worshipper calls her queen of those below the earth and prays to her to send the madness of the soul away to the ends of the earth and to show the initiates a kindly face (Orphic Hymns 71).
Melinoe’s Role in Greek Mythology
The hymn tells no story about Melinoe beyond her birth, and no myth about her survives in the epic poets, the tragedians or the mythographers. She belongs among the powers of the underworld around Persephone, and the hymn is a prayer to turn away the night terrors and madness she was believed to send.
What the ancient sources say
Passages that name Melinoe, in the original with English translation. The line gives the work and reference as scholars cite it.
- Orpheus (attributed), Orphic Hymns 67–71Hymns 67-71: Aesculapius, Health, the Furies, MelinoeAesculapius is invoked as the healer and physician of mankind, and Health as the much-desired, life-bearing queen. Two hymns call on the Furies, the first…
Cite This Article
