Mortal · Character in Homer’s Odyssey
Melanthius
Goatherd who changed sides
Servile to whoever feeds him; kicks a beggar, arms the thieves.
Odysseus' own goatherd, who kicks the beggar on the road into town and later smuggles armour out of the storeroom for the suitors. Eumaeus catches him at it and strings him up from a roof-beam.
Bonds
- Melanthius aids The Suitors — smuggles them arms and armour
- Melanthius enemy of Odysseus — kicks and curses the beggar
- Eumaeus captor of Melanthius — hoists him to the roof-beam
- Dolius father of Melanthius — the traitor son
Appears in
- Book XVII Return of Odysseus to His Palace
- Book XX The Last Banquet of the Suitors
- Book XXI The Bending of the Bow of Odysseus
- Book XXII Death of the Suitors
Scenes
- On the Road — Book XVII. Eumaeus, Odysseus set out, meet Melanthius
- Melanthius’s Insults — Book XVII. Melanthius kicks beggar, Eumaeus prays
- Approaching the Hall — Book XVII. Odysseus marvels at palace, plans entry
- Athena Stirs Him — Book XVII. Athena urges Odysseus to beg suitors
- Antinoüs Rebukes Eumaeus — Book XVII. Antinoüs scolds Eumaeus over the beggar
- Melanthius’s insult — Book XX. Melanthius mocks Odysseus as shameless beggar
- Eagle omen, feast begins — Book XX. Eagle omen, Amphinomus halts the plot
- Greasing the Bow — Book XXI. Bow warmed with grease, suitors fail
- Eurymachus Fails, Feast Deferred — Book XXI. Eurymachus fails, Antinoüs defers contest
- Melanthius Rearms Suitors — Book XXII. Melanthius smuggles arms to suitors
- Betrayal Discovered — Book XXII. Odysseus orders Melanthius trapped
- Goatherd Trussed — Book XXII. Herdsmen bind, hoist Melanthius
- Maids and Goatherd Punished — Book XXII. Telemachus hangs maids, Melanthius mutilated
- Amphimedon’s Tale — Book XXIV. Amphimedon tells slaughter, Penelope praised