Melinoe
Propitiations Offered to the Ghosts of the Dead
Domains:
Chthonian
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Greek Name | Transliteration | Latin Spelling | Translation |
Μηλινοη Μειλινοη | Mêlinoê, Meilinoê | Melinoe | Dark-Minded |
MELINOE was a frightful, underworld goddess who presided over propitiations offered to the ghosts of the dead. At night she wandered the earth with her train of ghosts, striking fear into the hearts of men. Her limbs were black on one side and white on the other, a manifestation of her dual chthonic and heavenly nature.
Melinoe's name means either "Dark-Minded" or "Propitation-Minded" from the Greek words melas "black", meilia "propitiation" and noos "mind". The word meilia was often used to describe propitiatory offerings made to the ghosts of the dead.
Melinoe was probably an Orphic title for the goddess Hekate who was also a leader of ghosts and sometimes described as the daughter of Persephone.