Melampus
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, Melampus, or Melampous , was a legend
ary soothsayer
and healer
, originally of Pylos
, who ruled at Argos
. He was the introducer of the worship of Dionysus
, according to Herodotus
, who asserted that his powers as a seer were derived from the Egyptians
and that he could understand the language of animals. A number of pseudepigraphal
works of divination
were circulated in Classical and Hellenistic times under the name Melampus. According to Herodotus and Pausanias
(vi.17.6), on the authority of Hesiod
, his father was Amythaon, whose name implies the "ineffable" or "unspeakably great"; Melampus and his heirs were thus Amythaides of the "House of Amythaon".
's Odyssey
, a digression concerning the lineage of Theoclymenus
, "a prophet, sprung from Melampus' line of seers", sketches the epic narrative concerning Melampus with such brevity that its details must have been familiar to Homer's audience. With brief hints, a sequence of episodes is alluded to, in which we discern strife in Pylos between Melampus and Neleus
, who usurps Melampus's "great high house", forcing him into heroic exile. Melampus spends a year as bondsman in the house of Phylacus
, "all for Neleus' daughter Pero
". At his extremity, Melampus is visited by "the mad spell a Fury
, murderous spirit, cast upon his mind. But the seer worked free of death" and succeeded at last in rustling Phylacus's cattle back to Pylos, where he avenged himself on Neleus and gave Pero in marriage to his brother Bias
. But Melampus's own destiny lay in Argos
, where he lived and ruled, married and sired a long line, also briefly sketched in Homer's excursus.
or possibly Proetus
. The king offered a reward for anybody that could heal his son, who suffered from a strange malady. Melampus killed an ox and talked to the vulture
s that came to eat the corpse. They said that the last time they had had such a feast was when the king had made a sacrifice. They told Melampus that the prince had been frightened of the big, bloody knife and the king tossed it aside to calm the child. It had hit a tree and injured a hamadryad
, who cursed the prince with the sickness. The hamadryad told Melampus that the boy would be healed if the knife was taken out of the trunk of the tree and boiled, then the prince should drink the rusty water that resulted. Melampus followed her directions and, as payment for the cure, demanded two thirds of the kingdom
for himself, and one third for his brother, Bias
. The king agreed.
In another version of Melampus' story, when the women of Argos
were driven mad by Dionysus
, in the reign of Anaxagoras
or possibly Proetus
, Melampus was brought in to cure them, but demanded a third of the kingdom as payment. The king refused, but the women became wilder than ever, and he was forced to seek out Melampus again, who this time demanded both a third for himself and another third for his brother Bias. The king felt he had no choice but to agree, and so Melampus lead them to the city of Lusi
where they were healed of their madness in a sanctuary of Artemis
.
Melampus' reputation as a seer spawned myths that verge on anecdote, to account for his gift, the offering of serpents. In one, as a young boy, he told his servants not to kill two snake
s. Grateful, the snakes gave Melampus the ability to speak with animals.
Another version says that he found a mother snake that had been crushed under a cart and two orphaned babies. Rather than leaving them he gave the snake a burial and raised the young ones. To thank him they licked his ears so that he was able to understand animals.
After this there were three kings ruling Argos at any time, one descended from each of Bias
, Melampus, and Anaxagoras. Melampus was succeeded by his son Mantius
, and his house of Melampus lasted down to the brothers Alcmaeon and Amphilochus
, who fought in the Trojan War
.
Late in his life, Melampus was kidnapped. In his cell, he overheard two termite
s talking, claiming they would be finished eating through Melampus' ceiling
the next morning. Melampus called his captors and demanded a move. He made such an uproar that the kidnappers agreed. When the ceiling collapsed the next morning, the kidnappers decided he was a prophet
and that to hold on to him might offend the gods. They let him go.
Melampus also figures in the tale of King Midas
, the pleasure-loving King of Phrygia
. He was chosen to be a judge between the famous musical contest between Apollo and Marsyas. Although Apollo clearly had won, he disagreed with the other judges. Apollo called the King an ass, and to prove his point he touched him on the head and gave Midas the ears of a donkey. Long and hairy they sprouted up, and Midas in a panic covered them up with a tall Phrygian cap, hoping nobody ever discovered his embarrassing secret.
Only his barber knew of this disgraceful matter, but Midas had warned him that he would be put to death if ever he revealed to anyone the asinine state of the King's ears. The barber found himself bursting with the secret and couldn't bear to keep the gossip to himself, but was afraid for his life. So he dug a hole in the bank of the Pactolus river and, after making certain that nobody was listening, he whispered into the hole that "King Midas has an ass's ears." Filling up the hole to forever bury the secret, the barber went away happy and at peace with himself.
All was well until the next spring, when a reed sprouted up from the hole and whispered to the other reeds that King Midas had the ears of a donkey. These reeds in turn whispered the secret to all creatures who passed. Soon the birds learned the news and brought it Melampus. Melampus told all his friends and soon the entire kingdom knew about King Midas' miserable secret.
A certain Melampus wrote a treatise on the laws of symmetry prior to the first century BC. (Vitruvius
VII, introduction). This treatise is lost.
exists in such fragmentary quotations and chance remarks that its reconstruction, according to Walter Burkert
, is "most uncertain." An attempt was made by I Löffler, Die Melampodie: Versuch einer Rekonstruction des Inhalts (1963).
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...
, Melampus, or Melampous , was a legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
ary soothsayer
Oracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
and healer
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, originally of Pylos
Pylos
Pylos , historically known under its Italian name Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It was the capital of the former...
, who ruled at Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
. He was the introducer of the worship of Dionysus
Dionysus
Dionysus 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...
, according to Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, who asserted that his powers as a seer were derived from the Egyptians
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
and that he could understand the language of animals. A number of pseudepigraphal
Pseudepigraphy
Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed authorship is unfounded; a work, simply, "whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past." The word "pseudepigrapha" is the plural of "pseudepigraphon" ; the Anglicized forms...
works of divination
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
were circulated in Classical and Hellenistic times under the name Melampus. According to Herodotus and Pausanias
Pausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
(vi.17.6), on the authority of Hesiod
Hesiod
Hesiod was a Greek oral poet generally thought by scholars to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. His is the first European poetry in which the poet regards himself as a topic, an individual with a distinctive role to play. Ancient authors credited him and...
, his father was Amythaon, whose name implies the "ineffable" or "unspeakably great"; Melampus and his heirs were thus Amythaides of the "House of Amythaon".
Homer
In HomerHomer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
, a digression concerning the lineage of Theoclymenus
Theoclymenus
In Greek mythology, Theoclymenus , son of Polypheides, was a prophet from Argos, who, in the Odyssey, had been taken from that city after killing one of his relatives being captured by pirates. He fled to Pylos and sought refuge aboard the ship of Telemachus, who had come to inquire about the fate...
, "a prophet, sprung from Melampus' line of seers", sketches the epic narrative concerning Melampus with such brevity that its details must have been familiar to Homer's audience. With brief hints, a sequence of episodes is alluded to, in which we discern strife in Pylos between Melampus and Neleus
Neleus
Neleus was the son of Poseidon and Tyro and brother of Pelias. Tyro was married to Cretheus but loved Enipeus, a river god. She pursued Enipeus, who refused her advances. One day, Poseidon, filled with lust for Tyro, disguised himself as Enipeus and from their union was born Pelias and Neleus,...
, who usurps Melampus's "great high house", forcing him into heroic exile. Melampus spends a year as bondsman in the house of Phylacus
Phylacus
In Greek mythology, Phylacus founded the city of Phylace, Thessaly. He was the son of Deioneus and Diomede, husband of Clymene , and the father of Iphiclus and Alcimede. His children and grandchildren are sometimes referred to by the patronymic Phylacides...
, "all for Neleus' daughter Pero
Pero
In Greek mythology, Pero was a daughter of Neleus and Chloris, and the wife of her cousin Bias. Her sons included Areius, Leodocus, and Talaus. The story of Pero is mentioned in Book XI of Homer's Odyssey. Pero's beauty attracted many suitors, but Neleus, her father, refused to give his daughter...
". At his extremity, Melampus is visited by "the mad spell a Fury
Erinyes
In Greek mythology the Erinyes from Greek ἐρίνειν " pursue, persecute"--sometimes referred to as "infernal goddesses" -- were female chthonic deities of vengeance. A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "those who beneath the earth punish whosoever has sworn a false oath"...
, murderous spirit, cast upon his mind. But the seer worked free of death" and succeeded at last in rustling Phylacus's cattle back to Pylos, where he avenged himself on Neleus and gave Pero in marriage to his brother Bias
Bias (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Bias was a brother of Melampus who received one third of Argos . Bias married his cousin Pero and had one child, Talaus, with her. When Pero died he remarried Iphianassa, daughter of Proetus, after Melampus had cured her from madness. He received one third of Proetus's kingdom...
. But Melampus's own destiny lay in Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
, where he lived and ruled, married and sired a long line, also briefly sketched in Homer's excursus.
Later myths
At a later date the narrative was embellished with anecdotal detail: Melampus lived in Pylos during the reign of AnaxagorasAnaxagoras (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Anaxagoras was a king of Argos and son of either Megapenthes or his son Argeus. The prince, Anaxagoras' son, suffered from a strange malady and the king offered a reward for anybody that could heal him. Melampus, a local seer, killed an ox and talked to the vultures that came...
or possibly Proetus
Proetus
Proetus was a mythical king of Argos and Tiryns. His father Abas, son of the last surviving and died Danaid Hypermnestra, had ruled over Argos and married Ocalea. However, Proetus quarreled continually with his twin brother Acrisius, inventing shields or bucklers in the process...
. The king offered a reward for anybody that could heal his son, who suffered from a strange malady. Melampus killed an ox and talked to the vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
s that came to eat the corpse. They said that the last time they had had such a feast was when the king had made a sacrifice. They told Melampus that the prince had been frightened of the big, bloody knife and the king tossed it aside to calm the child. It had hit a tree and injured a hamadryad
Hamadryad
Hamadryads are Greek mythological beings that live in trees. They are a particular type of dryad, which in turn are a particular type of nymph. Hamadryads are born bonded to a particular tree. Some believe that hamadryads are the actual tree, while normal dryads are simply the entities, or...
, who cursed the prince with the sickness. The hamadryad told Melampus that the boy would be healed if the knife was taken out of the trunk of the tree and boiled, then the prince should drink the rusty water that resulted. Melampus followed her directions and, as payment for the cure, demanded two thirds of the kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
for himself, and one third for his brother, Bias
Bias (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Bias was a brother of Melampus who received one third of Argos . Bias married his cousin Pero and had one child, Talaus, with her. When Pero died he remarried Iphianassa, daughter of Proetus, after Melampus had cured her from madness. He received one third of Proetus's kingdom...
. The king agreed.
In another version of Melampus' story, when the women of Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
were driven mad by Dionysus
Dionysus
Dionysus 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...
, in the reign of Anaxagoras
Anaxagoras (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Anaxagoras was a king of Argos and son of either Megapenthes or his son Argeus. The prince, Anaxagoras' son, suffered from a strange malady and the king offered a reward for anybody that could heal him. Melampus, a local seer, killed an ox and talked to the vultures that came...
or possibly Proetus
Proetus
Proetus was a mythical king of Argos and Tiryns. His father Abas, son of the last surviving and died Danaid Hypermnestra, had ruled over Argos and married Ocalea. However, Proetus quarreled continually with his twin brother Acrisius, inventing shields or bucklers in the process...
, Melampus was brought in to cure them, but demanded a third of the kingdom as payment. The king refused, but the women became wilder than ever, and he was forced to seek out Melampus again, who this time demanded both a third for himself and another third for his brother Bias. The king felt he had no choice but to agree, and so Melampus lead them to the city of Lusi
Lusi, Greece
Lusi was an ancient city in Arcadia, Greece. It was a member of the Achaean League.Various legends surround the city. In one version of the story of Proetus's daughters, Melampus leads them to Lusi where they were healed of their madness in a sanctuary of Artemis....
where they were healed of their madness in a sanctuary of Artemis
Artemis
Artemis 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"...
.
Melampus' reputation as a seer spawned myths that verge on anecdote, to account for his gift, the offering of serpents. In one, as a young boy, he told his servants not to kill two snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s. Grateful, the snakes gave Melampus the ability to speak with animals.
Another version says that he found a mother snake that had been crushed under a cart and two orphaned babies. Rather than leaving them he gave the snake a burial and raised the young ones. To thank him they licked his ears so that he was able to understand animals.
After this there were three kings ruling Argos at any time, one descended from each of Bias
Bias
Bias is an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of alternatives. Bias can come in many forms.-In judgement and decision making:...
, Melampus, and Anaxagoras. Melampus was succeeded by his son Mantius
Mantius
In Greek mythology, Mantius was the son of Melampus and Iphianassa and the father of Clitus, Polypheides and, in some versions, of Oicles....
, and his house of Melampus lasted down to the brothers Alcmaeon and Amphilochus
Amphilochus
Amphilochus or Amphílokhos may refer to:* In Greek mythology:** Amphilochus ** Amphilochus ** Husband of Alcinoe* Amphilochus , a genus of crustaceans...
, who fought in the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
.
Late in his life, Melampus was kidnapped. In his cell, he overheard two termite
Termite
Termites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera , but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea...
s talking, claiming they would be finished eating through Melampus' ceiling
Ceiling
A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limit of a room. It is generally not a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the floor or roof structure above....
the next morning. Melampus called his captors and demanded a move. He made such an uproar that the kidnappers agreed. When the ceiling collapsed the next morning, the kidnappers decided he was a prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
and that to hold on to him might offend the gods. They let him go.
Melampus also figures in the tale of King Midas
Midas
For the legend of Gordias, a person who was taken by the people and made King, in obedience to the command of the oracle, see Gordias.Midas or King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This was called the Golden touch, or the...
, the pleasure-loving King of Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
. He was chosen to be a judge between the famous musical contest between Apollo and Marsyas. Although Apollo clearly had won, he disagreed with the other judges. Apollo called the King an ass, and to prove his point he touched him on the head and gave Midas the ears of a donkey. Long and hairy they sprouted up, and Midas in a panic covered them up with a tall Phrygian cap, hoping nobody ever discovered his embarrassing secret.
Only his barber knew of this disgraceful matter, but Midas had warned him that he would be put to death if ever he revealed to anyone the asinine state of the King's ears. The barber found himself bursting with the secret and couldn't bear to keep the gossip to himself, but was afraid for his life. So he dug a hole in the bank of the Pactolus river and, after making certain that nobody was listening, he whispered into the hole that "King Midas has an ass's ears." Filling up the hole to forever bury the secret, the barber went away happy and at peace with himself.
All was well until the next spring, when a reed sprouted up from the hole and whispered to the other reeds that King Midas had the ears of a donkey. These reeds in turn whispered the secret to all creatures who passed. Soon the birds learned the news and brought it Melampus. Melampus told all his friends and soon the entire kingdom knew about King Midas' miserable secret.
Melampus' alleged writings
Three works have survived under the name "Melampus."- Peri Palmon Mantike, an extended treatise on divination by twitchMuscle contractionMuscle fiber generates tension through the action of actin and myosin cross-bridge cycling. While under tension, the muscle may lengthen, shorten, or remain the same...
es (palomancy), existing in a number of versions; - Peri Elaion tou somatos, a short work on divination by molesMole (skin marking)A melanocytic nevus is a type of lesion that contains nevus cells .Some sources equate the term mole with "melanocytic nevus". Other sources reserve the term "mole" for other purposes....
- An astrologicalAstrologyAstrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
lunarium. The twitch text begins with a dedicationDedicationDedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church or other sacred building. It also refers to the inscription of books or other artifacts when these are specifically addressed or presented to a particular person. This practice, which once was used to gain the patronage and support of...
to a king Ptolemy, probably Ptolemy Philadelphus, which is also probably spurious.
A certain Melampus wrote a treatise on the laws of symmetry prior to the first century BC. (Vitruvius
Vitruvius
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He is best known as the author of the multi-volume work De Architectura ....
VII, introduction). This treatise is lost.
Melampodia
A work attributed in Antiquity to HesiodHesiod
Hesiod was a Greek oral poet generally thought by scholars to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. His is the first European poetry in which the poet regards himself as a topic, an individual with a distinctive role to play. Ancient authors credited him and...
exists in such fragmentary quotations and chance remarks that its reconstruction, according to Walter Burkert
Walter Burkert
Walter Burkert is a German scholar of Greek mythology and cult.An emeritus professor of classics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, he also has taught in the United Kingdom and the United States...
, is "most uncertain." An attempt was made by I Löffler, Die Melampodie: Versuch einer Rekonstruction des Inhalts (1963).