Melinoë
Melinoë (/mɪˈlɪnoʊiː/; Ancient Greek: Μηλινόη, romanized: Mēlinóē pronounced [mɛːlinóɛː]) is a chthonic goddess invoked in one of the Orphic Hymns (2nd or 3rd centuries AD?[4] Orphic Hymn 71 is addressed to Melinoe, and describes her as follows (in the translation by Apostolos Athanassakis and Benjamin M. Wolkow): I call upon Melinoë, saffron-cloaked nymph of the earth,whom revered Persephone bore by the mouth of the Kokytos riverupon the sacred bed of Kronian Zeus.In the guise of Plouton Zeus tricked Persephone and through wiley plots bedded her;a two-bodied specter sprang forth from Persephone's fury.This specter drives mortals to madness with her airy apparitionsas she appears in weird shapes and strange forms,now plain to the eye, now shadowy, now shining in the darkness—all this in unnerving attacks in the gloom of night.O goddess, O queen of those below, I beseech youto banish the soul's frenzy to the ends of the earth,show to the initiates a kindly and holy face.[9] Although some Greek myths deal with themes of incest, in Orphic genealogies lines of kinship express theological and cosmogonical concepts, not the realities of human family relations.[4] Thus Melinoë is described as such not in order to be designated as a divinity of lower status, but rather as a young woman of marriageable age; the same word is applied to Hecate and Tethys (a Titaness) in their own Orphic hymns.[14] Melinoë's connections to Hecate and Hermes suggest that she exercised her power in the realm of the soul's passage, and in that function may be compared to the torchbearer Eubuleus in the mysteries.
Greek underworldAeacusAngelosAscalaphusCerberusCeuthonymusCharonErinyesEurynomosHecateHypnosMenoetiusMoiraiPersephoneRhadamanthusThanatosZagreusAcheronAsphodelMeadowsCocytusElysiumFields of sorrowFortunate IslesLand of dreamsPhlegethonTartarusDanaïdesSalmoneusSisyphusTantalusTitansTityusAeneasDionysusHeraclesHermesOdysseusOrpheusPirithousPsycheTheseusAncient GreekromanizedchthonicOrphic HymnsepithetquinceOrphic HymnApostolos AthanassakisKronianunderworldpsychopompcosmogonicalTethysTitanesssyncretizedpeplosEubuleusmysteriesnight terrors"magic"Greek lettersPergamonbronzedivinationPhoebevoces magicaeMelinoëHades IISupergiant Gamesfirst gameChronosOlympian godsW.H. RoscherAthanassakisThe VergeEngadgetPolygonPCGamesNAncient Greek religionmythologyReligionAges of ManGolden AgeHeroic AgeAncient accounts of HomerApotheosisDaemonDestinyEudaimoniaEuhemerismEunoiaEusebeiaGolden meanGolden RuleGreek words for loveHero cultHubrisInterpretatio graecaKatabasisKnow thyselfMetamorphosisMetempsychosisNympholepsyParadoxographyPatron godsPederastyPhronesisPolytheismSophrosyneepic poemsEpic CycleAethiopisCypriaIliupersisLittle IliadNostoiOdysseyTelegonyTheban CycleOedipodeaThebaidEpigoniAlcmeonisAesop's FablesAretalogy