Home Site Menu Religion Menu Interesting Menu Humour Menu Guestbook Forum Email

Melas

1. A son of Poseidon by a nymph of Chios, and brother of Angelus. (Description of Greece by Pausanias Book vii. 4. § 6.)

2. One of the Tyrrhenian pirates mentioned under Melanthus No. 1.

3. A son of Phrixus and Chalciope, was married to Eurycleia, by whom he became the father of Hyperes. (The Theogony of Apollodorus I)

4. A son of Porthaon and Euryte, and brother of Oeneus. (Hor. Il. xiv. 117; The Theogony of Apollodorus I; comp. Oeneus and Tydeus.)

5. A son of Antassus, at Gonusa, near Sicyon. He joined the Dorians on their march against Corinth. His services were at first declined, but he was afterwards allowed to fight in the ranks of the Dorians. He was the ancestor of the family of Cypselus. ( Description of Greece by Pausanias Book 2)

6. There are three other mythical personages of this name. (Description of Greece by Pausanias vii. 4. § 6, The Theogony of Apollodorus II)

From Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

From The Iliad of Homer translated by Samuel Butler BOOK XIV

Then said Diomed, "Such an one is at hand; he is not far to seek, if you will listen to me and not resent my speaking though I am younger than any of you. I am by lineage son to a noble sire, Tydeus, who lies buried at Thebes. For Portheus had three noble sons, two of whom, Agrius and Melas, abode in Pleuron and rocky Calydon. The third was the knight Oeneus, my father's father, and he was the most valiant of them all. Oeneus remained in his own country, but my father (as Jove and the other gods ordained it) migrated to Argos. He married into the family of Adrastus, and his house was one of great abundance, for he had large estates of rich corn-growing land, with much orchard ground as well, and he had many sheep; moreover he excelled all the Argives in the use of the spear. You must yourselves have heard whether these things are true or no; therefore when I say well despise not my words as though I were a coward or of ignoble birth. I say, then, let us go to the fight as we needs must, wounded though we be. When there, we may keep out of the battle and beyond the range of the spears lest we get fresh wounds in addition to what we have already, but we can spur on others, who have been indulging their spleen and holding aloof from battle hitherto."

From Description of Greece by Pausanias Book 2

[2.4.4] Aletes himself and his descendants reigned for five generations to Bacchis, the son of Prumnis, and, named after him, the Bacchidae reigned for five more generations to Telestes, the son of Aristodemus. Telestes was killed in hate by Arieus and Perantas, and there were no more kings, but Prytanes (Presidents) taken from the Bacchidae and ruling for one year, until Cypselus, the son of Eetion, became tyrant and expelled the Bacchidae. Cypselus was a descendant of Melas, the son of Antasus. Melas from Gonussa above Sicyon joined the Dorians in the expedition against Corinth. When the god expressed disapproval Aletes at first ordered Melas to withdraw to other Greeks, but afterwards, mistaking the oracle, he received him as a settler.Such I found to be the history of the Corinthian kings.

From The Theogony of Apollodorus I

When Tydeus had grown to be a gallant man he was banished for killing, as some say, Alcathous, brother of Oeneus; but according to the author of the Alcmaeonid his victims were the sons of Melas who had plotted against Oeneus, their names being Pheneus, Euryalus, Hyperlaus, Antiochus, Eumedes Sternops, Xanthippus, Sthenelaus, but as Pherecydes will have it, he murdered his own brother Olenias.