Comaetho
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, Comaetho (Κομαιθώ) is a name that may refer to:
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, Comaetho (Κομαιθώ) is a name that may refer to:
- The daughter of Pterelaos and princess of the TaphiansTaphiansIn Homeric Greece, the islands of Taphos lay in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Acarnania in northwestern Greece, home of sea-going and piratical inhabitants, the Taphians...
. The Taphians were at war with Thebes, led by Amphitryon, whom Comaetho fell in love with. The Taphians remained invincible until Comaetho out of love for Amphitryon cut off her father's golden hair, the possession of which rendered him immortal. Having defeated the enemy, Amphitryon put Comaetho to death in retribution for her deed and handed over the kingdom of the Taphians to CephalusCephalusCephalus is an Ancient Greek name, used both for the hero-figure in Greek mythology and carried as a theophoric name by historical persons. The word kephalos is Greek for "head", perhaps used here because Cephalus was the founding "head" of a great family that includes Odysseus...
. The story is parallel to that of Scylla (princess)Scylla (princess)Scylla is a princess of Megara in Greek mythology. She is mentioned by Ovid.As the story goes, Scylla was the daughter of Nisus the King of Megara, who possessed a single lock of purple hair which granted him invincibility. When Minos, the King of Crete, invaded Nisus's kingdom, Scylla saw him...
; compare also PisidicePisidiceIn Greek mythology, Pisidice or Peisidike was one of the following individuals:* A daughter of Pelias, who, together with her sisters, killed their father, as Medea tricked them into believing this was needed to rejuvenate him....
and LeucophryeLeucophryeIn Greek mythology, Leucophrye was the daughter of Mandrolytus, a resident of a city in Asia Minor.Leucippus, son of Xanthius, was chosen by the oracle as leader of a colony of one in ten sent out of Pherae by Admetus...
.
- A beautiful girl of Patrae who served as priestess in the temple of ArtemisArtemisArtemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
Triclaria and was in love with MelanippusMelanippusIn Greek mythology, there were nine people named Melanippus :#One of the sons of Agrius, killed by Diomedes.#Son of Perigune and Theseus, the father of Ioxus who, together with Ornytus, led a colony to Caria and became the ancestor of the family Ioxides.#Son of Astacus, defended Thebes in Seven...
. They were not allowed to marry each other, so they met secretly in the temple and had sex together. The outraged goddess sent famine and plague upon the city; to propitiate her, the inhabitants had to sacrifice both Comaetho and Melanippus to her. Since then, a young man and a young girl were sacrificed to the goddess each year until, in accordance with the instructions of the DelphiDelphiDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
an oracle, a strange king (EurypylusEurypylusIn Greek mythology, Eurypylus was the name of several different people.-Son of Thestius:One Eurypylus was a son of Thestius. He participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar, during which he insulted Atalanta and was killed by Meleager.-Son of Euaemon:Another Eurypylus was a Thessalian king,...
, son of Euaemon) introduced the worship of a new deity (DionysusDionysusDionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
, whose image he brought from TroyTroyTroy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
) in Patrae, thus both putting an end to the sacrifices and curing himself of madness which had been sent upon him when he had first looked at the god's image.
- A nymphNymphA nymph in Greek mythology is a female minor nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from gods, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing;...
of a spring who incessantly mingles her waters with those of the river god Cydnus, who in one passage of NonnusNonnusNonnus of Panopolis , was a Greek epic poet. He was a native of Panopolis in the Egyptian Thebaid, and probably lived at the end of the 4th or early 5th century....
' DionysiacaDionysiacaThe Dionysiaca is an ancient epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surviving poem from antiquity at 20,426 lines, composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hexameters, the main subject of which is the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India, and his...
is said to be her father, and in another her consort.
- Daughter of TydeusTydeusIn Greek mythology, Tydeus was an Aeolian hero of the generation before the Trojan War. He was one of the Seven Against Thebes and was mortally wounded by Melanippus before the walls of the city. The goddess Athena had planned to make him immortal but refused after Tydeus in a rage devoured the...
and sister of DiomedesDiomedesDiomedes or Diomed is a hero in Greek mythology, known for his participation in the Trojan War.He was born to Tydeus and Deipyle and later became King of Argos, succeeding his maternal grandfather, Adrastus. In Homer's Iliad Diomedes is regarded alongside Ajax as one of the best warriors of all...
, mother of Cyanippus by AegialeusAegialeusIn Greek mythology, Aegialeus is a name attributed several individuals.* Aegialeus was the elder son of Adrastus, a king of Argos, and either Amphithea or Demonassa. Aegialeus was identified as one of the Epigoni, who avenged their fathers' disastrous attack on the city of Thebes by retaking the...
.