In Greek mythology, Melantho ( ; Ancient Greek: Μελανθώ, romanized: Melanthṓ, IPA: [me.lan.tʰɔ̌ː]) is one of the minor characters in the Odyssey. She was one of the maidservants of Odysseus who was loyal to the suitors of Penelope.
Contents
Family
Melantho was the sister of Melanthios, a goatherd in Ithaca, and the daughter of Dolios.
Mythology
Melantho was among Penelope's favourite handmaidens; she had "reared and looked after her as tenderly as her own child" and given "all the toys she could desire" growing up.
Melantho was disloyal to Odysseus and his household. She was one of the slaves who slept with the suitors of Penelope; she was in love with Eurymachus and had become his mistress.
Melantho is described as having a "sharp tongue". Upon Odysseus's arrival in his own home, disguised as a beggar, Melantho treats him harshly and rudely - asking why he has not gone to sleep in the smithy, the location where chance visitors in Ithaca tended to go, and warning him that a better man that Arnaeus might soon kill him in combat. Odysseus threatens to tell Telemachus what she has said, and tells Melantho that Telemachus would chop her into pieces. This scares the maidservants, making their limbs go slack and prompting them to run away. She is rude to Odysseus again, urging him to leave, for which Odysseus and Penelope respond intensely to her.
After Odysseus and his men kill the suitors, it is not clear if Melantho is among the 12 slave girls forced to clean the hall and hanged by Telemachus.
In other media
Melantho is a character in the opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
Melantho is portrayed by Teresa Pellati in the 1954 film Ulysses
Melantho is portrayed by Andrea Saric in the 1968 series Odissea (dal Poema di Omero)
Melantho is portrayed by Mia Goth in the 2026 film The Odyssey.