Meliae in the context of "Furies"

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⭐ Core Definition: Meliae

In Greek mythology, the Meliae (also called Meliads) (/ˈmli./; Ancient Greek: Μελίαι, romanizedMelíai or Μελιάδες, Meliádes) were usually considered to be the nymphs of the ash tree, whose name they shared.

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Meliae in the context of Nymph

A nymph (Ancient Greek: νύμφη, romanizednýmphē; Attic Greek: [nýmpʰɛː]; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, landform, or tree, and are usually depicted as maidens. Because of their association with springs, they were often seen as having healing properties; other divine powers of the nymphs included divination and shapeshifting. In spite of their divine nature, they were not immortal.

Nymphs are divided into various broad subgroups based on their habitat, such as the Meliae (ash tree nymphs), the Dryads (oak tree nymphs), the Alseids (grove nymphs), the Naiads (spring nymphs), the Nereids (sea nymphs), the Oceanids (ocean nymphs), and the Oreads (mountain nymphs). Other nymphs included the Hesperides (evening nymphs), the Hyades (rain nymphs), and the Pleiades (companions of Artemis).

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Meliae in the context of Erinyes

The Erinyes (/ɪˈrɪni.z/ ih-RI-nee-eez; Ancient Greek: Ἐρινύες, sg. Ἐρινύς Erinys), also known as the Eumenides (Εὐμενίδες, the "Gracious ones"), are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take vengeance on men, whosoever hath sworn a false oath". Walter Burkert suggests that they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath". Their Roman counterparts are the Furies, also known as the Dirae. The Roman writer Maurus Servius Honoratus (c. 400 AD) wrote that they are called "Eumenides" in hell, "Furiae" on Earth, and "Dirae" in heaven. Erinyes are akin to some other Greek deities, called Poenai.

According to Hesiod's Theogony, when the Titan Cronus castrated his father, Uranus, and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes (along with the Giants and the Meliae) emerged from the drops of blood which fell on the Earth (Gaia), while Aphrodite was born from the crests of sea foam. Apollodorus also reports this lineage. According to variant accounts, they are the daughters of Nyx ('Night'), while in Virgil's Aeneid, they are daughters of Pluto and Nox (the Roman name for Nyx). In some accounts, they were the daughters of Eurynome (a name for Earth) and Cronus, or of Earth and Phorcys (i.e., the sea). In Orphic literature, they are the daughters of Hades and Persephone.

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Meliae in the context of Glauce

In Greek mythology, Glauce (/ˈɡlɔːs/; Ancient Greek: Γλαύκη Glaukê means 'blue-gray' or 'gleaming'), Latin Glauca, refers to different people:

  • Glauce, an Arcadian nymph, one of the nurses of Zeus. She and the other nurses were represented on the altar of Athena Alea at Tegea.
  • Glauce, twin sister of Pluto who died as an infant according to Euhemerus.
  • Glauce, one of the Melian nymphs.
  • Glauce, one of the 50 Nereids, marine-nymph daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris. She personifies the color of the sea which can be attributed to her name that signifies "sea-green" or "bright green". Glauce and her other sisters appear to Thetis when she cries out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles at the slaying of his friend Patroclus.
  • Glauce, mother, by Upis, of "the third" Artemis in Cicero's rationalized genealogy of the Greek gods.
  • Glauce, a Libyan princess as one of the Danaïdes, daughters of King Danaus. Her mother was either Atlanteia or Phoebe, both were hamadryads. Glauce married and murdered her cousin Alces, son of King Aegyptus of Egypt by an Arabian woman.
  • Glauce, a Corinthian princess as the daughter of King Creon. Also known by the name Creusa, predominantly in Latin authors, e.g. Seneca and Propertius. Hyginus uses both names interchangeably. In Cherubini's opera Medea she is known as Dircé. She married Jason. Creusa was killed, along with her father, by Medea, who either sent her a peplos steeped in flammable poison or set fire to the royal palace. In the local Corinthian tradition, Glauce threw herself into a well in a vain attempt to wash off Medea's poison; from this circumstance the well became known as the Well of Glauce.
  • Glauce, an Amazon. Some say that it was she, and not Antiope, who was abducted by Theseus and became his wife.
  • Glauce, a Salaminian princess as the daughter of King Cychreus, son of Poseidon and Salamis. Some sources say that Glauce married Actaeus and bore him a son Telamon. Others say that Telamon was her husband and that, after her death, he married Periboea, mother of Ajax.
  • Glauce, a princess of Colonae as daughter of King Cycnus, sister of Cobis and Corianus. During the Trojan campaign, she was taken captive by the Greeks and was given to Ajax, by whom she became mother of Aeantides.
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Meliae in the context of Melia (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Melia or Melie (Ancient Greek Μελία, Μελίη) was the name of several figures. The name Melia comes from μελία, the ancient Greek word for ash-tree. In the plural, the Meliae were a class of nymphs associated with trees, particularly ash-trees. There were several other nymphs (or possible nymphs) named Melia, not necessarily associated with trees, these include:

Two other personages named Melia, are known from scholia citing the fifth-century BC mythographer Pherecydes:

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Meliae in the context of Melia (consort of Poseidon)

In Greek mythology, Melia or Melie (Ancient Greek: Μελίη) was a Bithynian nymph, who was, by Poseidon, the mother of Amycus and Mygdon, both kings of the Bebryces. The name Melia perhaps derived from a misreading of a line of Apollonius of Rhodes containing Βιθυνὶς Μελίη, which instead of being read as Melia from Bithynia, might instead be read as Bithynis the Melia, i.e. Bithynis the ash tree nymph.

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