Melas (son of Phrixus)
Melas ( ancient Greek Μέλας ; the adjective with the same name means "black-blue", "dark") is a son of Phrixus and Chalkiope , daughter of Aietes , in Greek mythology . As siblings he had the brothers Argos , Phrontis and Kitysoros . Pausanias mentions Presbon as another brother . Melas had a son from Eurycleia named Hyperes .
Like his brothers Argos, Phrontis and Kitysoros, Melas also took part in the Argonauts' voyage and played a certain role. Because Melas grew up with his brothers in Colchis . After the death of their father they set out to avenge the iniquity of their father by Athamas before his flight to Colchis, but ended up stranded on the island of Ares in the Black Sea . From there they were rescued by Jason and the Argonauts. When Jason learned that Melas and his brothers were grandsons of Aietes, he convinced the brothers to return to Colchis with him. You should help him find the Golden Fleece . They should also be able to provide valuable information about the terrain and security measures over Colchis. After the fleece was conquered, the brothers returned to Greece with the Argonauts.
The Μέλας πόντος , Melas pontos , or Μέλας κόλπος , Melas kolpos , a bay in the Aegean Sea, today's Bay of Saros in the Thracian Sea , is said to have been named after Melas .
literature
- Heinrich Wilhelm Stoll : Melas 6 . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 2.2, Leipzig 1897, Sp. 2585-2585 ( digitized version ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Wilhelm Gemoll : Greek-German school and hand dictionary. Munich / Vienna 1965.
- ↑ Libraries of Apollodor 1, 9, 1; Apollonios of Rhodes , Argonautika 2, 1155; Hyginus Mythographus , Fabulae 14.
- ^ Pausanias 9, 34, 8 and 9, 37, 1.
- ↑ Valerius Flaccus , Argonautica 5, 455; Hyginus Mythographus, Fabulae 21.