A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

1014 MELANIPPUS. MELANTHIUS.
Xenophon, who makes Aristodemus give him the 5. One of the sons of Priam. (Apollod. iii. 12.
first place among dithyrambic poets, by the side of ~ 5.)
-Homer, Sophocles, Polycleitus, and Zeuxis, as the 6. A youth of Patrae, in Achaia, who was in
chief masters in their respective arts (Xenoph. love with Comaetho, a priestess of Artemis TriMein. i. 4. ~. 3), and by Plutarch, who mentions claria. As the parents on both sides would not
him, with Simonides and Euripides, as among the consent to their marriage, Melanippus profaned the
most distinguished masters of music (Non poss. temple of the goddess by his intercourse with
snav. viv. sec. Epic. p. 1095, d.). He did not, Comaetho. The goddess punished thetwo offenders
however, escape the censures which the old comic with instantaneous death, and visited the whole
poets so often heap upon their lyric contemporaries, country with plague and famine. The oracle of
for their corruption of the severe beauties of the Delphi revealed the cause of these calamities, and
ancient music. Pherecrqates places him at the head ordered the inhabitants to sacrifice to Artemis every
of such offenders, and charges him with relaxing year the handsomest youth and the handsomest
and softening the ancient music' by increasing the maiden. (Paus. vii. 19. ~ 2.) A seventh Mlythical
chords of the lyre to twelve (or, as we ought per- personage of this name is mentioned by Homer.
haps to read, ten: see Ulrici, Gesch. d. Hellen. (II. xv. 547, 576.) [L. S.]
Dichtkunst,vol.ii. p. 605,n. 104),and thus paving the MELANIPPUS (MEhdaczL7rros), a youth of
way for the further licences introduced by Cinesias, Agrigentum, who, having been treated with inPhrynis,'and Timotheus (Plut. de Mus. p. 1141; justice by Phalaris, proposed to his friend Chariton
comp. Meineke, Frag. Com. Graec. pp. 326-335). to form a ~conspiracy against the tyrant. Chariton,
Accordink to Aristotle, he altogether abandoned alarmed.for the safety of Melanippus, urged him
the antistrophic arrangement, and introduced long to say nothing to any one of his intention, and
preludes (dvagoAla), in which the union, which promised to devise a fitting opportunity for the
was anciently considered essential, between music enterprise. Having then resolved to take the
and the words of poetry, seems to have been whole risk upon himself, he attempted the life of
severed (Aristot. Rhet. iii. 9). Plutarch (or the Phalaris, and, being apprehended, was put to the
author of the essay on music which bears. his torture, which he bore resolutely, refusing to conname) tells us that in his flute-music he subverted fess that he had any accomplices. Melanippus
the old arrangement, by which the flute-player was hereupon came to Phalaris and avowed himself the
hired and trained by the poet, and was entirely instigator of the design, and the tyrant, struck
subordinate to him (De Mus. 1. c.); but there is with their mutual friendship, spared the lives of
probably some mistake in this, as the fragment of both on condition of their leaving Sicily. (Ael.
Pherecrates, which the author quotes in confirm- V. H. ii. 4.) [E. E.]
ation of his statement, contains not a word about MELANO'PUS (MeAdvwcros), a son of Laches,
flute-music, but attacks only the alterations in the the Athenian general, was one of three ambassadors
lyre; while, on the other hand, Athenaeus cites a (the other two being Glaucias and ANDROTION)
passage from the Marsyas of Melanippides, which who were sent to remonstrate with Mausolus, king
seems to show that he rejected and despised flute- of Caria, on his attempt to subject to himself the
music altogether (Athen. xiv. p. 616, e.). islands on the eastern coast of the Aegean. On
According to Suidas, Melanippides wrote lyric their way they fell in with' and captured a mersongs and dithyrambs. Several verses of his chant ship of Naucratis, which was brought into
poems are still preserved, and the, following titles, the Peiraeeus, and condemned by the Athenians
lllarsyas, Persephone, The Danaids,.'which have as an enemy's vessel. The prize-money, however,
misled Fabricius and others into the supposition was retained by Melanopus and his colleagues;
that Melanippides was a tragic poet, a mistake and, when the time drew near at which they
which has been made with respect to the titles of would have to surrender it on pain of imprisonthe dithyrambs of other poets. The fragments are ment, Timocrates proposed a law exempting public
collected by Bergk (Poet. Lyr. Graec. pp. 847- debtors from that penalty on their giving security
850). We learn from Meleager (v. 7) that some for payment. A prosecution was hereupon instiof the hymns of Melanippides had a place in his tuted against Timocrates by Diodorus and EucteGarland - mon (private enemies of Androtion); and for them
vadpKciav e'-s''ropv MsvaAM7r7r'aou'yKvov V'iywV. Demosthenes wrote the speech, still extant, which
(Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. pp. 129,130; Ulrici, was delivered by Diodorus in B. c. 353. Before
Hellen. Dichtk. vol. ii. pp. 26, 141, 590-593; the trial came on, Melanopus and his colleagues
Schmidt, Diatribe in Ditkyramb. pp. 77-85, who paid the money. In the speech against Timocrates
maintains the distinction of Suidas, and attempts Melanopus is mentioned as having been guilty of
to distinguish between the extant fragments of the treason, of embezzlement, of misconduct in an emtwo poets.) [P. S.] bassy to Egypt, and of injustice towards his own
MELANIPPUS (MeAdvLrr7ros). 1. A son of brothers. (Dem. c. Tim. p. 740.) [E. E.]
Agrius, was slain by Diomedes. (Apollod. i. 8. MELANO'PUS (MeAdvcwroe), of Cyme, a poet
~ 6; comp. OENEUS.) of the mythical period, whom Pausanias places
2. A son of Astacus of Thebes, who, in the between Olen and Aristaeus, is said by that author
attack of the Seven on his native city, slew Tydeus to have composed a hymn to Opis and Hecaerge,
and Mecisteus. His tomb was shown in the in which he stated that those goddesses came from
neighbourhood of Thebes on the road to Chalcis. the Hyperboreans to Delos before Achaeia. (Paus.
(Aeschyl. Sept. 409; Apollod. iii. 6. ~ 8; Herod. v. 7. ~. 4. s. 8.) In some of the old genealogies
v. 67; Paus. ix. 18. ~ 1.) - Melanopus was made the grandfather of Homer.
3. A son of Theseus and Perigune,- and father of (Proc!. and Pseudo-Herod. Vit. Horn.) [P. S.]
Ioxus. (Paus. x. 25. ~ 2; Plut. T/es.: 8.) MELA'NTHIUS (MeAdoidros), also called Me4. A son of Ares and Tritaea, the daughter of lantheus, a son of Dolius, was a goat-herd of OdysTriton. (Paus. vii. 22. ~ 5.) seus, sided with the suitors of Penelope, and was