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Dictionary
Mecionice to Mineus

Characters
Geographical
Abae to Byzeres
Cabeiraea to Elysium
Emathia to Lycastus
Lyceum to Phicium
Phigalia to Zone

Mecionice. A woman from Hyria, a Boeotian city. She consorted with Poseidon and had by this god a son Euphemus 1 [Hes.GE.6].

Mecisteus 1. See SEVEN AGAINST THEBES.

Mecisteus 2. Son of Lycaon 2 [Apd.3.8.1].

Mecisteus 3. An Alizonian (the Alizones or Alizonians are Trojan allies, inhabiting the Troad). He was father of Odius 1 and Epistrophus 2 (both among the TROJAN LEADERS) [Apd.Ep.3.34ff.].

Mecisteus 4. See SUITORS OF PENELOPE.

Mecisteus 5. See ACHAEANS.

Meda 1. Daughter of Phylas 1 and mother, by Heracles 1, of Antiochus 1, counted among the HERACLIDES [Pau.1.5.2].

Meda 2. Like other Achaean women Meda 2 took a lover while her husband was fighting at Troy. Her lover Leucus 1 usurped the throne of Crete and, having become a tyrant, murdered both Meda 1 and her daughter Clisithyra whom she had by her husband Idomeneus 1, one of the ACHAEAN LEADERS [Apd.Ep.6.10].

Medea.

Medesicaste 1. Daughter of Priam 1 and wife of Imbrius, counted among the TROJANS [Apd.3.12.5; Hom.Il.13.173; Pau.10.25.9].

Medesicaste 2 was taken captive by the Achaeans after the sack of Troy. Being in Italy and fearing slavery in Hellas, she set fire to the vessels, causing the Achaeans to settle there. For this she and her sisters were called Nauprestides. Medesicaste 2 was daughter of Laomedon 1, her mother being either Strymo, or Leucippe 2, or Placia [Apd.3.12.3; Apd.Ep.6.15c].

Medeus (see Medus) [Hes.The.1001; Pau.2.3.9].

Medon 1. See ACHAEAN LEADERS.

Medon 2. See SUITORS OF PENELOPE.

Medon 3. See CENTAURS.

Medon 4. See TROJANS.

Medon 5. See HERALDS.

Medon 6. One of the SAILORS who tried to delude Dionysus 2, but were turned into fishes by the god [Hyg.Fab.134; Ov.Met.3.581-691].

Medon 7. Son of Pylades and Electra 2 [Pau.2.16.7].

Medon 8. King of the Argos after his father Cisus, but with limited authority [see Argos] [Pau.2.19.1].

Medon 9. A craftsman from Cilla, a city in the Troad (northwestern Asia Minor). Husband of Iphianassa 4 and father by her of Menalcas 1 and Zechis (both counted among the TROJANS) [QS.8.294, 10.125].

Medon 10. One of the Dolionians (people of northwestern Asia Minor). He was killed by the ARGONAUTS [Val.3.118].

Medon 11. King of Athens, son of Codrus 1 [Pau.7.2.1].

Medores was a warrior in the army of Perses 3 against Aeetes during the Colchian civil war. He was killed by Phalerus 1 [Val.6.211].

Medus (Polyxenus 3, Medeus) called his country Media after himself. He was son of Medea, either by Aegeus 1, or by Jason, or by a king of renown. Medus, who is among the disciples of Chiron, died when marching against the Indians [see also Medea] [Apd.1.9.28; Dio.4.55.5, 4.55.7; Hes.The.1001; Hyg.Fab.26; Pau.2.3.8; Strab.11.13.10].

Medusa 1.

Medusa 1's Blood. The blood which dropped on earth when Perseus 1 severed Medusa 1's head produced a brood of poisonous serpents, among which the one (Serpent 6) that killed Mopsus 1 (one of the ARGONAUTS) in the desert [Arg.4.1513ff.].

Medusa 2. Medusa 2 is daughter of Sthenelus 3 & Nicippe 1. Sthenelus 3 was King of Mycenae and Tiryns, and Nicippe 1 is daughter of Pelops 1 & Hippodamia 3. Medusa 2 is sister of Eurystheus [see also Heracles 1] [Apd.2.4.5].

Medusa 3. Daughter of Priam 1 [Apd.3.12.5; Hyg.Fab.90; Pau.10.26.9].

Medusa 4. One of the daughters of King Pelias 1 of Iolcus, the man who sent Jason to fetch the Golden Fleece. Together with her sisters (among which Alcestis), and at Medea's instigation, she slew her father and cooked him in a brazen caldron [see also Medea]. Her mother was either Anaxibia 2 or Phylomache [Apd.1.9.10; Hyg.Fab.24].

Megabrontes. One of the Dolionians (people of northwestern Asia Minor visited by the ARGONAUTS). He was killled by Heracles 1 [Arg.1.1041].

Megacles. Father of Alcon 6, counted among the TROJANS [QS.3.308].

Megaera. See ERINYES.

Megaletor. Son of Munichus and Lelante. When his parent's house was attacked by robbers who put fire to the buildings, all family members were turned by the pity of Zeus into birds [Lib.Met.14].

Megalossaces. One of the Dolionians (people of northwestern Asia Minor visited by the ARGONAUTS). He was killed by the DIOSCURI [Arg.1.1045].

Megamede. Daughter of Arneus and wife of Thespius, whose fifty daughters consorted with Heracles 1 [Apd.2.4.10, 2.7.8].

Megamedes. Father of Pallas 9, father of Selene [Hom.Herm.100].

Meganira. Daughter of Croco. She was mother by Arcas 1 (son of Zeus and Callisto) of Elatus 2 and Aphidas 1 [Apd.3.9.1].

Megapenthes 1. Son of Menelaus and Tereis, and husband of Alector 3's daughter, a Spartan woman [Apd.3.11.1; Hom.Od.4.10].

Megapenthes 2. King of Argos. When Perseus 1 had accidentally killed his father in law Acrisius, he was ashamed to come to Argos and claim the inheritance of the man who had died by his hand; so instead he went to Megapenthes 2 at Tiryns and effected an exchange of kingdoms with him, surrendering Argos into his hands. In this way Megapenthes 2 reigned over the Argives, and Perseus 1 reigned over Tiryns. Some have said that it was Megapenthes 2 who ended the life of Perseus 1, who was his cousin, since Megapenthes 2's father was Proetus 1, brother of Acrisius; his mother was Stheneboea, the daughter of a Lycian king. Some say that Megapenthes 2 had a son Argeus 1, in turn father of Anaxagoras, also king of Argos; but others say that Anaxagoras was the child of Megapenthes 2, as also was Iphianira 1, who married Melampus 1 (one of the SEERS) [Apd.2.2.2, 2.4.4; Dio.4.68.4-5; Pau.2.16.3, 2.18.4].

Megara, daughter of Creon 2, was given by her father as wife to Heracles 1. By him she had children Therimachus, Deicoon 1, Creontiades, and Ophites 1; but these were flung into the fire by Heracles 1, who also killed Megara in a fit of madness. Some do not believe this account and say instead that Heracles 1 gave Megara, at a later date, to Iolaus 1 as wife. In any case Odysseus saw Megara, years after, in the Underworld [see Map of the Underworld] [Apd.2.5.12, 2.6.1, 2.7.8; Eur.Her.9, 11, 1001 and passim; Hom.Od.11.269; Hyg.Fab.31, 72, 241].

Megareus 1. Defender of the Neistan Gate at Thebes during the war of the SEVEN. Megareus 1 was son of Creon 2 and Eurydice 12 [Aes.Sev.474; Soph.Ant.1303].

Megareus 2 came from Onchestus with an army of Boeotians to help Nisus 1 in his war against Minos 2. The city of Megara was named after him. Megareus 2 was son either of Poseidon and Oenope (daughter of Epopeus 1, king of Sicyon), or of Hippomenes 1, or of Onchestus 2, son of Poseidon. By Merope 6, he had a son Hippomenes 2, who married Atalanta; and by Iphinoe 3 (daughter of King Nisus 1 of Megara) he had several children: Evippus 3, Timalcus, and Evaechme 1. Megareus 2 was killed in battle [Apd.3.15.17; Hyg.Fab.157, 185; Ov.Met.10.605; Pau.1.39.5-6, 1.41.3, 1.43.4; Plu.GQ.16].

Megarus is counted among those who escaped the Flood in the age of Deucalion 1. He was son of Zeus and one of the NYMPHS (Nymph 8 Sithnid) [Pau.1.40.1].

Megas. Father of Perimus, one of the TROJANS [Hom.Il.16.695].

Megassares. King of Hyria (a Boeotian city) and father of Pharnace, mother of Cinyras 1, father of Adonis [Apd.3.14.3].

Megasthenes. See SUITORS OF PENELOPE.

Meges 1. See SUITORS OF HELEN, ACHAEAN LEADERS, and WOODEN HORSE.

Meges 2. Father of Polymnius, one of the TROJANS [QS.2.292].

Meges 3. A wealthy Trojan, son of Dymas 2. He married Periboea 9, who bore him sons: Celtus 3 and Eubius (counted among the TROJANS) [QS.7.606ff.].

Meges 4. Defender of Thebes against the SEVEN [Stat.Theb.10.19].

Megisto. Son of Ceteus 1, son of Lycaon 2 [see also CONSTELLATIONS] [Hyg.Ast.2.6].

Meilanion 1 fought in the Indian War against the army of Dionysus 2 [Nonn.30.318].

Meilanion 2. See TROJANS.

Melaena bore Apollo a son Delphus after whom the city of Delphi was named. She was daughter of Cephisus (one of the RIVER GODS) and Liriope (one of the NYMPHS), and thereby sister of Narcissus [Pau.10.6.4].

Melaeneus. Son of Lycaon 2 and founder of Melaeneae in Arcadia. He was perhaps the eldest of the brothers [Apd.3.8.1; Pau.8.26.8].

Melampus 1. See SEERS and Argos.

Melampus 2. One of ACTAEON'S DOGS. See Actaeon.

Melampus 3 was a companion of Heracles 1 during all his difficult LABOURS. He was father of Cisseus 3 and Gyas 2, whom Aeneas slew in Italy [Vir.Aen.10.318ff.].

Melanchaetes 1. One of ACTAEON'S DOGS. See Actaeon.

Melanchaetes 2. See CENTAURS.

Melaneus 1. See CENTAURS.

Melaneus 2. Father of Amphimedon 1, one of the SUITORS OF PENELOPE [Hom.Od.24.103].

Melaneus 3. One of ACTAEON'S DOGS. See Actaeon.

Melaneus 4, counted among the ETHIOPIAN CHIEFS, was in the court of Cepheus 1 at the time of the fight between Perseus 1 and Phineus 1, and was killed during the same fight [Ov.Met.5.128].

Melaneus 5. A good archer who came to Perieres 1 in Messenia, and also reigned over the Dryopians (the people living between the Sperchius River and Mount Parnasus). Melaneus 5 was son of Apollo; and his wife was Oechalia, who bore him Eurytus 4 and Ambracia [Lib.Met.4; Pau.4.2.2, 4.3.10, 4.33.5].

Melaneus 6. Father of Autonous 3 [Lib.Met.7].

Melaneus 7. An Indian, whose shape Hera took to warn Astraeis, and Indian captain during Dionysus 2's Indian War [Nonn.14.304].

Melaneus 8 joined, along with his father and brothers, Deriades against Dionysus 2 in the Indian War. He was son of Aretus 4 and Laobie [Nonn.26.250ff.].

Melaneus 9. See TROJANS.

Melanion. This is the young man who, having tricked Atalanta to pick the golden apples of Aphrodite during a race for Atalanta's hand, succeeded in marrying her. But later, as he and his wife had intercourse in the precinct of Zeus, the god turned both into lions [see also Hippomenes 2]. Melanion was son of Amphidamas 1, son of Lycurgus 2, son of Aleus, son of Aphidas 1, son of Arcas 1, son of Zeus and Callisto. His sons by Atalanta are Parthenopaeus (who died in the war of the SEVEN AGAINST THEBES) and Tlesimenes, also called son of Parthenopaeus and one of the EPIGONI [Apd.3.6.3, 3.9.2; Pau.3.12.9].

Melanippe 1, daughter of Chiron and Chariclo 2, having consorted with Aeolus 1, fled into the forest so that her father might not see that she had given birth to a girl. And when she asked the gods to be concealed, they turned her into a mare, o perhaps Artemis did it when Melanippe 1 ceased to worship her [see also CONSTELLATIONS] [Hyg.Ast.2.18].

Melanippe 1's Child. The daughter of Aeolus 1 and Melanippe 1 [Hyg.Ast.2.18].

Melanippe 2. See AMAZONS.

Melanippe 3. Wife of Hippotes 1 and mother, by him, of Aeolus 2, the ruler of the WINDS [Dio.4.67.3].

Melanippe 4 (see Arne) [Hyg.Fab.186; Pau.9.1.1; Strab.6.1.15].

Melanippe 5. Daughter of King Oeneus 2 of Calydon and Althaea. Melanippe 5 and her sister Eurymede 2 are called the MELEAGRIDS, for they are remembered for having grieved the death of their brother Meleager, being then turned into birds by Artemis [Lib.Met.2].

Melanippe 6 (see Hippolyte 3). See AMAZONS [Apd.Ep.1.16].

Melanippus 1. Son of Astacus and defender of the Proetidian Gate in Thebes during the war of the SEVEN. He mortally wounded Tydeus 2 and was himself killed by him, who ate his brains besides, after Amphiaraus had cut off his head. Some have said that it was Amphiaraus who killed Melanippus 1 [Aes.Sev.407ff.; Apd.1.8.6, 3.6.6-8; Hdt.5.67; Pau.9.18.1; Stat.Theb.8.718, 8.760].

Melanippus 2. See TROJANS.

Melanippus 3. See TROJANS.

Melanippus 4. See ACHAEANS.

Melanippus 5 is the handsome young man who, wishing to marry Comaetho 2, a priestess of Artemis, could not do it because both her parents and his own opposed any idea of marriage. But since, as they say, Love breaks all rules and might desecrate the worship of the gods, Melanippus 5 and his girl friend satisfied their passion in the sanctuary of Artemis. For this reason the wrath of the goddess fell upon the people (or so they believed), and so the earth yielded no harvest and fatal diseases spread. Worried as they were they consulted the oracle at Delphi, confirming through the Pythian priestess, that the cause of these calamities was the conduct of Melanippus 5 and Comaetho 2, whom the oracle ordered to sacrifice to Artemis, so that the goddess might be appeased. This they did and, following the oracle's instructions, they sacrificed from then on and every year to the goddess the fairest youth and the fairest maiden among them [Pau.7.19.3].

Melanippus 6. Son of Ares and Triteia, a priestess of Athena. Melanippus 6 founded the city Triteia in Achaea, naming it after his mother [Pau.7.22.8].

Melanippus 7. Son of Theseus and Perigune, daughter of Sinis. Melanippus 7 is father of Ioxus, who led a colony into Caria (the southwestern region of Asia Minor) [Pau.10.25.7; Plu.The.8.2].

Melanippus 8. See TROJANS.

Melanippus 9. Together with his brothers Melanippus 9 wrested the kingdom of Calydon from Oeneus 2 and gave it to Agrius 3, their father. He and his brothers, except a couple of them, were killed by Diomedes 2, who restored Oeneus 2 (his grandfather) [Apd.1.8.6].

Melantheia. Daughter of Alpheus (one of the RIVER GODS), and mother by Poseidon of Eirene 2, a woman from Calaurea, the island (Poros Island) in the entrance of the Saronic Gulf off the Argolid coast [Plu.GQ.19].

Melantheus 1 (see Melanthius 2) [Hom.Od.17.212].

Melantheus 2. One of the captains (an Indian chief) who supported Dionysus 2 in his conflict against Poseidon concerning Beroe 5 (counted among the OCEANIDS). Melantheus 2 was son of Oenone 3 (one of the NYMPHS) [Nonn.43.62].

Melanthius 1. See TROJANS.

Melanthius 2 (Melantheus 1). Son of Dolius, the old servant that Penelope had received from her father. Melanthius 2 is the servant and goatherd who scorned Odysseus and Telemachus. He was killed by Odysseus together with the SUITORS OF PENELOPE, after slicing his nose and ears off [Apd.Ep.7.32; Hom.Od.17.212].

Melanthius 3. See ACHAEANS.

Melantho 1. Daughter of Dolius and syster of Melanthius 2 [see above]. She was a maid in the house of Odysseus who had been brought up by Penelope. She consorted with Eurymachus 2, one of the SUITORS OF PENELOPE [Hom.Od.18.301ff.].

Melantho 2. It is told of Melantho 2 that Poseidon consorted with her, taking the form of a dolphin [Ov.Met.6.120].

Melanthus 1. Son of Andropompus 1, son of Borus 3, son of Penthilus 2, son of Periclymenus 1, son of Neleus. Melanthus 1, who was king of Messenia, was expelled from the city by the HERACLIDES, Temenus 2 and Cresphontes. He then went to Athens and deposed Thymoetes 2, becoming king himself. Melanthus 1 is father of Codrus 1, whose sons colonized Ionia [Pau.1.19.5, 2.18.8].

Melanthus 2 is one of the SAILORS who tried to delude Dionysus 2, but were turned into fishes by the god [Ov.Met.3.581-691].

Melanthus 3. One of the Dolionians (people of northwestern Asia Minor visited by the ARGONAUTS). He was killled by Telamon (father of Ajax 1) during the battle between the Dolionians and the ARGONAUTS [Val.1.203].

Melas 1. Son of Porthaon and Euryte 2 and brother of King Oeneus 2 of Calydon. His sons were many (Pheneus, Euryalus 4, Hyperlaus, Antiochus 2, Eumedes 2, Sternops, Xanthippus 2, and Sthenelaus 1), but they were all killed by Tydeus 2 for plotting against Oeneus 2 [Apd.1.7.10, 1.8.5].

Melas 2. Son of Phrixus 1 (son of Athamas 1) and Chalciope 2, daughter of Aeetes [Apd.1.9.1; Hes.GE.15; Hyg.Fab.21; Val.5.461].

Melas 3 was son of Licymnius, the bastard son of King Electryon 1 of Mycenae. Melas 3 followed Heracles 1 when the latter attacked Oechalia from Trachis, wishing to punish Eurytus 4. Heracles 1 obtained victory and, having slain Eurytus 4, he led Iole captive, whom he had previously won in an archery contest, the result of which had not been respected. But both Melas 3 and his brother Argius 2 fell in battle [Apd.2.7.7].

Melas 4. Son of Poseidon and Nymph 10 [Pau.7.4.8].

Melas 5 sailed with his father Oenopion 1 (son of Ariadne) from Crete to Chios (the Aegean island off the coast of Ionia in Asia Minor) when the latter settled there [Pau.7.4.8].

Melas 6. It was in the guise of Melas 6, son of Ops 1, that Athena tried to persuade Teuthis to go to the war at Troy [Pau.8.28.5].

Melas 7 is one of the SAILORS who tried to delude Dionysus 2, but were turned into fishes by the god. Melas 7 was turned into a dolphin [Hyg.Fab.134].

Meleager.

MELEAGRIDS are called those sisters of Meleager who grieved much the death of their brother and were turned into birds by Artemis. Their names were Eurymede 2 and Melanippe 5 [Hyg.Fab.174; Lib.Met.2].

Meles 1. The Athenian Meles, spurning the love of Timagoras, bade him ascend to the highest point of a rock and cast himself down. Timagoras, who was ready to gratify his beloved friend in any of his requests, did as he was told. When Meles saw that Timagoras was dead, he suffered such remorse that he threw himself from the same rock and died. For this reason some people in Athens worshipped Anteros as the avenging spirit of Timagoras [Pau.1.30.1].

Meles 2. See TROJANS.

Melete. See MUSES.

Melia. See OCEANIDS.

MELIADS (See NYMPHS).

Meliboea 1. See OCEANIDS.

Meliboea 2 (see Chloris 1) [Pau.2.21.9].

Melicertes (Palaemon 3). Son of Athamas 1 and Ino. Zeus, after having given birth to Dionysus 2 (whom he had kept in his thigh), entrusted him to Hermes, who conveyed the little god to Ino and Athamas 1, persuading them to rear him as a girl. Yet Hera, who out of jealousy pursued Dionysus 2, drove the adoptive parents mad. So Athamas 1, being out of his mind, hunted his elder son Learchus as a deer and killed him, while Ino killed Melicertes. She first threw him into a boiling cauldron and then, carrying it with the dead child, she cast herself into the sea. He became then a new god, Palaemon 3, and his mother was called Leucothoe 3 or Leucothea. This is how Melicertes and his mother were made immortal. Others have said that he was laid in the cauldron by his father [Apd.1.9.1-2, 3.4.3; Hyg.Fab.224; Nonn.9.56, 10.68; Ov.Fast.6.485ff.; Ov.Met.4.542].

Melictaina. See MAENADS.

Melie. See NYMPHS.

Meline. One of the many daughters of Thespius and Megamede. She consorted with Heracles 1 and bore him a son Laomedon 3 [Apd.2.4.10, 2.7.8].

Melis died when, in order to escape the woman-mad Damnameneus 3, she threw herself into the sea [Nonn.33.324].

Melissa. Daughter of Procles 3, tyrant of Epidaurus, and wife of King Periander of Corinth. Her tomb is near Hyrnethium [Pau.2.28.8].

Melisseus 1. King of Helicon, whose daughters Adrastia 1 and Ide 3 nursed the infant Zeus [Apd.1.1.6; Col.23].

Melisseus 2. King in Caria (the southwestern region of Asia Minor) who purified Triopas 2 of the murder of Tenages [see also HELIADES 2 at Helius] [Dio.5.61.1].

Melisseus 3. See CORYBANTES.

Melite 1. See NEREIDS.

Melite 2. See NYMPHS.

Melite 3. One of the Argive daughters of Erasinus (one of the RIVER GODS) who received Britomartis [Lib.Met.40].

Meliteus. Son of Zeus and Othris and founder of the city Melite in Phthia in southern Thessaly. Meliteus was exposed when a child and fed by bees [Lib.Met.13].

Melius. See TROJANS.

Melobosis. See OCEANIDS.

Melphis. Mother by Molus 1 of Meriones, one of the ACHAEAN LEADERS [Hyg.Fab.97].

Melpomene. See MUSES.

Membliarus. This is the man whom Cadmus appointed as leader of the people that he, when coming to Hellas, left in the island of Calliste (later Thera), and whose descendants handed the kingdom to Theras. Membliarus was son of Poeciles [Hdt.4.147; Pau.3.1.7].

Memnon.

Memphis 1. Mother by Danaus 1 of Clite 1, Sthenele 1 and Chrysippe [see DANAIDS] [Apd.2.1.4].

Memphis 2. It is after this woman that the Egyptian city of Memphis is named. She was daughter of Nilus (one of the RIVER GODS) and, having married Epaphus 1, son of Zeus and Io, bore him Libya, whom Poseidon loved [Apd.2.1.4].

Menalcas 1. See TROJANS.

Menalcas 2. A Spartan in the army of the SEVEN AGAINST THEBES. He was killed by Hypseus 3 [Stat.Theb.8.431].

Menalcas 3. One of the sons of Aegyptus 1. See DANAIDS.

Menaleus. Defender of Thebes against the SEVEN. He was killed by Amphiaraus and Apollo [Stat.Theb.7.755].

Mendeis. One of the NYMPHS. Mother of Pallene by Sithon 2 [Con.10].

Meneclus. See TROJANS.

Menelaus.

Menemachus. One of the sons of Aegyptus 1. See DANAIDS.

Menephron. A man from Arcadia, notorious for having committed incest with his daughter Cyllene 2 [Hyg.Fab.253; Ov.Met.7.386].

Meneptolemus 1. See SUITORS OF PENELOPE.

Meneptolemus 2. Husband of Tisiphone 3, daughter of Antimachus 5 [QS.1.406].

Menes. See TROJANS.

Menesthes 1. See ACHAEANS.

Menesthes 2. This is one of the youths who were going to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. He was a grand-child of Scirus 2, a Salaminian [Plu.The.17.6].

Menestheus 1. See SUITORS OF HELEN, ACHAEAN LEADERS, WOODEN HORSE, and Athens.

Menestheus 2. A companion of Aeneas in Italy. He was son of Clytius 12, son of Aeolus 4 [Vir.Aen.10.129].

Menestheus 3 is remembered for having competed with the disk at Opheltes 1's funeral games [see also SEVEN AGAINST THEBES] [Stat.Theb.6.661].

Menesthius 1. See ACHAEANS.

Menesthius 2. See ACHAEANS.

Menestho. See OCEANIDS.

Menestratus. When a dragon (Dragon 4) devastated Thespiae, a Boeotian city west of Thebes, Menestratus, gave himself up to the beast wearing a bronze corselet with the point of a fish-hook turned outwards on each of its plates, believing that, although paying with his own life, he would destroy the monster. Menestratus invented this device and did this deed in order to save his lover Cleostratus, who had to be offered to the dragon, following the ordinance that commanded that every year one of the youths, chosen by lot, should be offered to the monster [Pau.9.26.7].

Menetes. Father of Antianira 1, mother of Echion 1 and Eurytus 2 (counted among the ARGONAUTS) [Arg.1.56].

Menippe 1. See NEREIDS.

Menippe 2. Daughter of Orion and Side 2. She killed herself to save her people from pestilence and was turned into a comet [see also CONSTELLATIONS] [Apd.1.4.3; Lib.Met.25].

Menippe 3. See AMAZONS.

Menippis. One of the many daughters of Thespius and Megamede. She consorted with Heracles 1 and bore him a son Entelides [Apd.2.4.10, 2.7.8].

Menippus. See ACHAEANS.

Menodice. See NYMPHS.

Menoeceus 1. Father of Hipponome, Creon 2 and Jocasta. Since Tiresias had predicted that someone had to die voluntarily to free Thebes from the plague during the reign of Oedipus, he threw himself from the walls of the city [see also Creon 2] [Apd.2.4.5, 3.5.7; Hyg.Fab.67].

Menoeceus 2. A Theban, son of Creon 2 and Eurydice 12. During the war against the SEVEN, the Thebans sought counsel of Tiresias, who said that they would be victorious if Menoeceus 2 would offer himself freely as a sacrifice to Ares. So Menoeceus 2 slew himself before the gates of Thebes [see also Creon 2 and Tiresias] [Apd.3.6.7; Eur.Phoe.1090 and passim; Pau.9.25.1; Stat.Theb.10.756].

Menoetes 1. This is the herdsman of Hades who reported to Geryon that Heracles 1 had stolen his kine. Later when Heracles 1 descended to the Underworld, Menoetes 1 challenged him to wrestle, and, being seized round the middle, had his ribs broken; but he was let off at the request of Persephone. Menoetes 1 was son of Ceuthonymus [see also HERACLES 1'S LABOURS and Heracles 1's descent to Hades at Map of the Underworld] [Apd.2.5.12].

Menoetes 2. See ACHAEANS.

Menoetes 3 was the coxswain of the galley of Gyas 1, a companion of the exiled Aeneas. Menoetes 3 was killed by Turnus, the man who opposed Aeneas in Italy [Vir.Aen.5.160, 12.517].

Menoetes 4. This is the man who exposed the child Oedipus and later in life recognized him by the scars on his feet and ankles [Hyg.Fab.67].

Menoetes 5. See HERALDS.

Menoetes 6. See TROJANS.

Menoetes 7 is one of the Thebans who laid an ambush for Tydeus 2 when he returned from Thebes just before the war of the SEVEN. Like others who took part in this ambush Menoetes 7 was killed by Tydeus 2 [Stat.Theb.2.643].

Menoetes 8. A guardian and counsellor of Argia 1, wife of Polynices, son of Oedipus [Stat.Theb.12.204].

Menoetius 1. See TITANS.

Menoetius 2 fled with his son Patroclus 1 because of the death of Clitonymus (whom Patroclus 1 killed) and was received by Peleus. Menoetius 2 was son of Actor 3, son of Deion, son of Aeolus 1. His mother was Aegina, who also had a son Aeacus by Zeus. Menoetius 2's wife was either Philomela 2, or Sthenele 2 (daughter of Acastus, son of Pelias 1, the king who sent Jason to fetch the Golden Fleece), or Periopis (daughter of Pheres 1, son of Cretheus 1, son of Aeolus 1), or Polymele 1, daughter of Peleus. By some of them Menoetius 2 fathered Patroclus 1. Menoetius 2 is counted among the ARGONAUTS [Apd.3.10.9, 3.13.8; Arg.1.69; Dio.4.38.5; Hyg.Fab.14, 97; Pin.Oly.9.69; Val.6.343].

Menoetius 3. See ACHAEANS.

Menon 1. See TROJANS.

Menon 2. See TROJANS.

Mentes 1. See TROJANS.

Mentes 2. The Taphian chieftain, in whose appearance Athena visited Telemachus. He was son of Anchialus 2, a wise prince, as they say [Hom.Od.1.105, 1.180].

Mentes 3. See TROJANS.

Mentor 1. Son of Heracles 1 and Asopis 1, one of the many daughters of Thespius [Apd.2.7.8].

Mentor 2. Son of Eurystheus and Antimache. Mentor 2 was killed by the Athenians in war [see also Eurystheus and Alcmena] [Apd.2.8.1, 3.9.2].

Mentor 3. A man who owned many horses. He was father of Imbrius, counted among the TROJANS [Hom.Il.13.171].

Mentor 4.

Meriones. See SUITORS OF HELEN, ACHAEAN LEADERS, and WOODEN HORSE.

Mermerus 1. Son of Jason and Medea, killed by his mother as a result of her disappointment at Jason divorcing her and wedding a Corinthian princess. Others have said that Medea left Mermerus 1 and her other son Pheres 2 behind when, after the murder, she left for Athens; they were then removed from the temple of Hera, where Medea had set them as suppliants and slain by the Corinthians. Yet others have said that Jason, after the death of Pelias 1, moved from Iolcus to Corcyra and that Mermerus 1 was killed by a lioness while hunting on the opposite mainland [Apd.1.9.28; Hyg.Fab.25, 239].

Mermerus 2. See TROJANS.

Mermerus 3. Father of Ilus 3 [Hom.Od.1.259].

Mermerus 4. See CENTAURS.

Merope 1. See PLEIADES.

Merope 2 is daughter of King Cypselus 1 of Arcadia, son of Aepytus 4, son of Hippothous 6, son of Cercyon 2, son of Agamedes 2, son of Stymphalus 1, son of Elatus 2, son of Zeus & Callisto. Merope 2 married Cresphontes, one of the HERACLIDES, and also, against her will the Heraclid Polyphontes 3. She had by Cresphontes a son Aepytus 2, who, after punishing Polyphontes 3, became king of Messenia [Apd.2.8.5; Pau.4.3.6].

Merope 3 (Aero). Daughter of Oenopion 1, wooed and outraged by Orion [Apd.1.4.3; Hes.Ast.4].

Merope 4. See OCEANIDS.

Merope 5. One of the HELIADES 1, who wept profusely over the fate of their brother Phaethon 3, having their tears hardened into amber and being themselves turned into trees. She was daughter either of Clymenus 5 and Merope 4, or of Helius and Clymene 1 [see Helius] [Hyg.Fab.154; Ov.Met.2.340].

Merope 6. Wife of Megareus 2 and mother of Hippomenes 2, the man who, through winning a race, conquered the hand of Atalanta [Hyg.Fab.185].

Merope 7. A Dorian whom Oedipus believed was his mother. She was married to King Polybus 4 of Corinth, who adopted and reared the child Oedipus [but see also Periboea 4] [Soph.OT.775, 990].

Merope 8. Daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens and Praxithea 4, daughter of Phrasimus. Merope 8 is mother of Daedalus, according to one account [Plu.The.19.5].

Meropes 1 (see Merops 3) [Hyg.Ast.2.16].

Meropes 2. A companion of the exiled Aeneas. Meropes 2 was killed by Turnus, the man who opposed Aeneas in Italy [Vir.Aen.9.702].

Meropis, daughter of Eumelus 5, was turned into an owl by Athena because of her impiety and arrogance. Something similar happened to her brother Agron 1 and to her sister Byssa [Lib.Met.15].

Merops 1. See SEERS.

Merops 2. King of Ethiopia, who adopted his wife Clymene 1's son, Phaethon 3 [Ov.Met.1.760ff., 2.184; Strab.1.2.27].

Merops 3 (Meropes 1), ruler in Cos (one of the Sporades Islands off the southwestern coast of Asia Minor) turned into an eagle by Hera. Merops 3 was father, by Ethemea, of Eumelus 5 [see also CONSTELLATIONS] [Hyg.Ast.2.16; Lib.Met.15].

Merops 4. Father of Pandareus [Lib.Met.36].

Merops 5. King of Anthemous (Samos). He was killed by Sithon 2 while fighting for the hand of the latter's daughter Pallene. [Con.10].

Mesaulius. The servant whom Eumaeus 1 had procured for himself during his master's absence [Hom.Od.14.455].

Mesembria. See HORAE.

Messapius led the Illyrians into Italy together with three sons of Lycaon 2 [Lib.Met.31].

Messapus took arms against Aeneas as an ally of Turnus. He was son of Poseidon [Vir.Aen.7.691, 9.523, 10.353].

Messene. This is the woman after whom Messenia was named. She was daughter of Triopas 1, king of Argos, and wife of Polycaon 1, the first ruler of Messenia [Pau.4.1.1].

Mesthles. See TROJAN LEADERS.

Mestor 1. Son of Perseus 1 and Andromeda. He married Lysidice 2 (daughter of Pelops 1), who bore him a daughter Hippothoe 3, mother of Taphius (who colonized Taphos, the island off the coast of Acarnania). Taphius became father of Pterelaus, king of Taphos. When later the sons of Pterelaus waged war against Mycenae, they did it claiming the kingdom of Mestor 1, then held by Electryon 1, also son of Perseus 1 [Apd.2.4.5].

Mestor 2. Son of Priam 1 killed by Achilles when this one marched against Aeneas in Mount Ida [Apd.3.12.5; Apd.Ep.3.32; Hyg.Fab.90].

Mestor 3. One of the sons of Pterelaus. Like his brothers he died fighting against the sons of Electryon 1 [see Mestor 1 above] [Apd.2.4.5-6].

Mestor 4. See Atlantis.

Meta. Daughter of Hoples and wife of Aegeus 1 [Apd.3.15.6].

Metabus. King of the Volscians (people living in Latium, Italy) who was suckled by a mare. He is the father, by Casmilla, of Camilla, the woman-warrior ally of Turnus against Aeneas [Hyg.Fab.252; Vir.Aen.11.539].

Metalces. One of the sons of Aegyptus 1. See DANAIDS.

METAMORPHOSES. Who transformed into what.

Metanastes. Son of Archander (son of Achaeus 1, eponym of Achaea) and Scaea, daughter of Danaus 1 [see also DANAIDS] [Pau.7.1.6].

Metanira is the woman who asked Demeter to nurse her child Demophon 2, when the goddess visited Eleusis. Metanira was married to King Celeus 1 and had other children by him besides Demophon 2: Triptolemus, Saesara, Diogenia 2, Pammerope, and Demo 2 [see also Eleusis and Demeter] [Apd.1.5.1; Hom.Dem.2.109, 2.213ff.; Pau.1.38.3].

Metapontus, king of Icaria, demanded of her wife Theano 4 that she bear children to him or leave the kingdom. Fearing the threat Theano 4 obtained from some shepherds two babies which she presented to the king as her own. Yet later Theano 4, having herself borne two sons to Metapontus, desired to get rid of the first two in order to save the kingdom for her own flesh and blood. So when a day came when Metapontus was away performing sacrifices, Theano 4 revealed to her young sons that the older boys (Aeolus 3 and Boeotus 1) were not her own, instructing them to kill them with hunting knives. However, on making the attempt, they were themselves killed by their prey and when their bodies were brought to the palace Theano 4 killed herself with the same kind of weapon she had recommended to her sons. Aeolus 3 and Boeotus 1 escaped to the shepherds who had first reared them, learning then that Poseidon was their father and Arne their mother. So they went to Desmontes, who held his daughter Arne (whom he had years ago blinded for being pregnant) prisoner, and killed him, thus freeing their mother whose sight Poseidon restored. In the company of their mother Aeolus 3 and Boeotus 1 returned to Icaria and, having revealed to Metapontus the treachery of Theano 4, the king married Arne and adopted them as his own sons. Others have said, however, that Metapontus wife was Autolyte, who was childless, and that Aeolus 3 and Boeotus 1, in connection with civil disorder, killed her for having quarrelled with their mother. Because of this crime, they say, Arne (daughter either of Aeolus 1 or of Aeolus 2 or of Desmontes) and her children, accompanied by many friends, had to leave the kingdom and escape in a boat [Dio.4.67.3ff.; Hyg.Fab.186].

Metharme. Daughter of Pygmalion 1, wife of Cinyras 1, and mother by him of Adonis, Oxyporus, Orsedice, Laogore, and Braesia [Apd.3.14.3].

Methe 1. One of the nurses of Dionysus 2 who followed him in his Indian campaign [Nonn.14.219ff.].

Methe 2. After Methe 2 the surfeit of wine (drunkenness) was called. Mother, by Staphylus 2, of Botrys [Nonn.18.5, 18.125, 19.53].

Methon. A Thracian, ancestor of Orpheus [Plu.GQ.11].

Methymna. Daughter of Macar 1 (son of Helius) and wife of King Lesbos of Lesbos (the large island in the Aegean Sea opposite the coast of Asia Minor) [Dio.5.81.6-7].

Metiadusa. Daughter of Eupalamus, and mother, by King Cecrops 2 of Athens, of Pandion 4, also king of Athens [Apd.3.15.5].

Metidice. Daughter of King Talaus of Argos and Eurynome 2. She bore to her husband Mnesimachus a son Hippomedon 1, one of the SEVEN AGAINST THEBES [Hyg.Fab.14, 70].

Metioche 1. A Trojan captive [Pau.10.26.2].

Metioche 2. Daughter of Orion and Side 2. She killed herself to save her people from pestilence and was turned into a comet [see also CONSTELLATIONS] [Apd.1.4.3; Lib.Met.25].

Metion 1. Son of King Erechtheus of Athens and Praxithea 4. Eupalamus is sometimes called son of Metion 1 and sometimes father of Metion 1. Metion 1 is also called father of Sicyon and Daedalus. His sons (but all three are given other parentages as well) are said to have expelled Pandion 4 from the throne of Athens [Apd.3.15.1, 3.15.5, 3.15.8; Dio.4.76.1; Pau.2.6.5].

Metion 2. Father of Phorbas 5, one of the ETHIOPIAN CHIEFS killed by Perseus 1 [Ov.Met.5.74].

Metis 1. See OCEANIDS.

Metis 2 (See Procne) [see Tereus 1] [Aes.Supp.60].

Metiscus. The driver of the chariot of Turnus (the man who opposed Aeneas in Italy), who was replaced by Juturna into whose likeness she had transformed [Vir.Aen.12.469].

Metius Fufetius. King of the Albans who waged war with the Romans. He was put to death by Tullus Hostilius, king of Rome, who tied him to colts and tore him apart [Plu.PS.7].

Metope 1. Daughter of Ladon 1 (one of the RIVER GODS). He was the river god Asopus' wife and mother of his children: Ismenus 1, Pelagon 1, Aegina, Ismene 1, Salamis, Antiope 3, Sinope, Corcyra, Thebe, Cleone, Nemea, Harpina, Tanagra, Pirene 3, Asopis 2, Ornia, and Chalcis [Apd.3.12.6; Arg.2.946; Dio.4.72.1; Hom.Od.11.260; Pau.2.5.2, 2.15.1, 2.15.3, 5.22.6, 9.20.1].

Metope 2. Mother by Sangarius (one of the RIVER GODS) of Hecabe 1 [Apd.3.12.5].

Mettius Curtius. A Sabine general in the war against Romulus [DH.2.42.2].

Mezentius. The cruel king of the Etruscans who tied live men to dead bodies. He was an ally of Turnus, the man who opposed Aeneas in Italy. Mezentius was killed by Aeneas, as was his son Lausus 1 [DH.1.64.4; Ov.Fast.4.881; Vir.Aen.7.647-649, 8.482ff., 10.897ff.].

Midanus. One of the sons of Aegyptus 1. See DANAIDS.

Midas.

Midea 1. A Phrygian woman, concubine of King Electryon 1 of Mycenae, to whom he bore Licymnius [Apd.2.4.5].

Midea 2. See DANAIDS.

Mideia.See NYMPHS.

Miletus. For the sake of Miletus civil war broke out in Crete; for the children of Europa (Sarpedon 1 and Minos 2) had fallen in love with him. In this war Minos 2 was victorious and Sarpedon 1 fled to Lycia (on the southern coast of Asia Minor east of Caria), and Miletus, being more friendly to Sarpedon 1, landed in Caria (the southwestern region of Asia Minor) where he founded the city of Miletus [see also Atymnius 1]. Miletus was son of Apollo, either by Aria (daughter of Cleochus 1), or by Deione, or by Acalle (daughter of Minos 2); others say that Miletus was son of Asterius 5, son of Minos 2. Miletus had children, either by Cyanee (daughter of Meander, one of the RIVER GODS), or by Eidothea 3 (daughter of Eurytus 10, king of the Carians), or by Tragasia; these were Byblis and Caunus, after whom a city in Caria was called [Apd.3.1.2; Lib.Met.30; Nonn.13.546; Ov.Met.9.443; Parth.11.2].

Mimas 1. See GIANTS.

Mimas 2. A Bebrycian (from northern Asia Minor) who attacked the ARGONAUTS after Amycus 1's death and was killed by Polydeuces, one of the DIOSCURI [Arg.2.105].

Mimas 3. A Trojan, son of Amycus 4 and Theano 3, who was born the same night as Paris. After the Trojan War he went into exile with Aeneas and, fighting in Italy, was killed by Mezentius, king of the Etruscans [Vir.Aen.10.702].

Mimas 4. King of Aeolis after his father Aeolus 1. Mimas 4 is father of Hippotes 1, father of Aeolus 2 [Dio.4.67.3].

Mimas 5. See CENTAURS.

Mimas 6. See CORYBANTES.

Mimas 7. See TROJANS.

Mimas 8. Defender of Thebes against the SEVEN. He was killed by Hippomedon 1 [Stat.Theb.9.290].

Mincius. See RIVER GODS.

Mineus. One of the sons of Aegyptus 1. See DANAIDS.