The Lovely Melanantho
finished 12/06/03.

The seasons were changing, and the beautiful Persephone was readying herself to return to Underworld, where she would stay until she was allowed to bring herself above Gaea’s depths once again. Before she embarked on her annual journey, she visited the dark goddess of the moon, Selene. “My dear,” Persephone began, “do tell me one of your well-woven stories. I am feeling tragic and sorrowful, and wish to know a tale that may allow me to see beauty in such gloom; this may leave me better prepared for my stay in the dreaded Underworld.”

Selene replied, “I can sense your despair in the sighs you heave, but perhaps I can color your darkness with romance and devotion. Allow me to try, with the story of Melanantho, whose love and loyalty led to her destined downfall.” Selene took in a deep breath before beginning her narrative:

“In the city of Didyma, near a grand temple of the gods, there lived a young mortal couple who were admirable in many ways. Xanthoteles was a high priest at the temple, respected and honored by the people of his city. But his real prize was not his occupation, but his lovely wife, Melanantho. There was not a single person in the city that did not admire her, and she pleased all with her sweet demeanor and social prowess. She was darkly beautiful and especially intriguing because of her mysterious nature. A romantic soul, she was forever speaking about the beauty of the world, and the wonder of the night sky. I came to love this mortal, for she seemed to fit all of my ideals.

“However, a sudden illness struck Melanantho and disrupted the calm and joyful lives of the young couple. To my dismay, the lovely woman quickly fell into a spiral of weakness and began to fade away. After a fortnight of this suffering, I realized that she was to die soon, and I felt compelled to save her. When she was alone one day, I appeared at her bedside and revealed my identity. Even in her ill state, she was awed by my presence, and she praised me with kind words. Touched, I offered her eternity at my side, as one of my handmaidens, and she accepted immediately. I pulled her beautiful soul from her dying body, which fell silent and still from the loss of its life, and her spirit was free to come with me to the heavens.

“As expected, Melanantho was a perfect companion, sweet in manner and careful in deed. Yet, in time I noticed a certain sadness in her eyes, and discovered that on her own time she had been looking down at her earthly lover, Xanthoteles. The man was tormented with grief, and time did not seem to be healing his wounds. He cried pained words and lamented over the suffering of mortals: ‘O great gods and goddesses, how lucky you are to not know these pangs of despair, these longings that can never be satisfied. In all your fantastic glory, you may never feel the sheer helplessness of a mere mortal, one who cannot bend Fate or stretch Time. Of all the people to die, why my beautiful Melanantho? Any would be more well-suited for death, myself happily included… Why did her time come to pass so soon, and leave the city mourning? Perhaps it is necessary in the grand scheme of things, and her death is yet another occurrence to keep the world in balance. The vast web of Fate covers all, maybe even you omnipotent gods to some extent, but does not always give us reason for its methods. Fate must know her power, for her cruel hand ultimately shapes and holds our lives together in complicated harmony. Yet, I cannot get through this reasoning without still longing for my lost wife, without feeling this empty hole in my being where her presence used to lie. She is gone, and I cannot bear this world without her. Forgive me, my deathless gods, for my efforts at your sacred temple are lacking due to the loss of my heart. Soon, my mind and body will follow and I will be nothing, a mere memory of a man on Gaea’s land…’ And so he went on and on, unable to cope with the disappearance of poor, sweet Melanantho.

“The dear girl watched him from on high and grew increasingly worried about him. Everything surrounding the situation looked ominous. I bid her go to the Fates and ask them what will happen, which may have eased her anxiety. So, she traveled to their abode at once. The three aspects were there—Clotho, the spinner; Lachesis, the apportioner; and Atropos, the inevitable--sitting together and weaving the world into place. Melanantho timidly inquired what was to become of her Xanthoteles. After a moment, the most feared of the three, Atropos, raised her eyes to the young woman’s and spoke dreaded words: ‘Your former husband is slated to succumb to Thanatos’s will, at a moment soon in his future. He cannot live without you, and this extreme grief will cause him to stop his life by his own hand. But, dear child, do not think that this means he may come join you—he must spend eternity in Hades, in a realm with others who committed his same crime--that is, his placing of his own happiness above that of the gods, whom he serves on the great earth. His disappearance from that sacred temple will be disruptive, as he is a high priest, not easily replaceable. The immortals love your Xanthoteles, indeed, or they would not have given him the honor of such a glorious position—however, his desertion will evoke the wrath of the deathless ones, and they will not let this selfish mortal forget his crime. His eternity is much unlike your own, Melanantho, and I advise that you accept this and move on.’

“Melanantho looked at the three Fates in turn, receiving a deep but mysteriously vague gaze from each, and then burst into speech, speaking winged words: ‘I will not accept this! He who was my love on earth, he who I married and cherished, he who I would have stood by for the longest life on earth, and will stand by now! He who I will never lose my love for, Xanthoteles, must not fade away into the gloom of the Underworld. He is too rich in body and soul, too kind and good and talented, to suffer such a Fate. Surely you cannot be telling me the whole truth, oh goddesses of the loom? How could such an evil fate destroy such a beautiful being? He was always a good man to all those around him, including the sacred gods above. He does not deserve this fate, nor even to die! Oh, horror, that I should be the cause of such a downfall. I was the key to lock this misery, so how may I turn the other way and prevent this doom? Tell me, oh Fates, tell me how I may save my Xanthoteles, for he surely is worthy to be saved. I will do anything, anything!, for the return of his safe and happy life. I drop to my knees and beg of you, that there is some way I can avoid this catastrophe.’

“Atropos spoke again, lifting an eyebrow at Melanantho’s love and courage. 'My dear girl, you should be thankful for the wonderful afterlife you have, but it seems that you, like your earthbound lover, cannot accept what you are given. Stubborn fools of mortals you are, but in a way your undying love is endearing. For this I will tell you that there is something you can do. We can twist Xanthoteles’s fate so that he is convinced to let himself live, and no harm will come to him until he is beckoned to the world of spirits by old age. However, we must not disrupt the balance of life, and Hades is already promised a poor soul. You may go down in your lover’s stead, and bend to the will of Hades for eternity—if this, of course, is a path you would like to follow. Let me remind you that it is not a pleasant one.' Atropos’s words, repeated to me by Melanantho, did not sound entirely convincing, but the Fates must have known that the devoted young woman would jump at the chance to save Xanthoteles. Perhaps Atropos was, in this way, revealing the true fate of the young lovers, instead of offering to change paths already set. We may never know, for the power and range of the Fates is great yet unknown.

“Melanantho, unsurprisingly, quickly accepted the proposition of the Fates. She came back to me for a time, during which she dreaded her future, but then allowed this unpleasant uncertainty to be overshadowed with the happy knowledge that Xanthoteles would not suffer.

“Soon, a new woman, Callimene, approached to Xanthoteles on the earth below. He was taken by her charm and beauty, and his heart knew he could love her. But his mind protested, remembering Melanantho, and he instantly felt guilty for allowing Callimene to tempt his affections. He reluctantly turned from the new beauty, determined to stay loyal to his former wife even after her death. Melanantho realized the danger in this—he looked like he was about to take his own life after all. I urged her to set him in the right direction, for only she could help to ease his mind. She took my advice and appeared to Xanthoteles, who was struck with wonder and hesitant relief. Melanantho, keeping her love channeled in her gaze and not allowing it to overcome her body, spoke gently: 'My love, my only, I see the longing in your eyes, and the same longing lies within me… but I must set that aside and tell you what must be. We are of two different worlds now, as I am no longer mortal but a handmaiden to the glorious Selene herself. As much as we both long to have each other again, it cannot be. So, take Callimene as your own, care for her and love for her with everything you have and everything you are. Remember me, but do not allow my memory to turn you from your own happiness, for your well-being feeds my own soul. I accept and bless this new union, and will you to do the same. Xanthoteles, my love, grasp life with all you are, for it is painfully short. Follow the path your heart leads you on. Farewell.’

“With that, she left him, before Xanthoteles saw the tears stream down her face and suspected there was more to her urging than she was telling him. He followed her advice almost immediately, for his mind was eased, as I suspected it would be. Melanantho saw the beginnings of this new love, and wept bittersweet tears, relieved that her love would be all right, but pained by her own heartache.

“She didn’t have much time to recover, however, for it was but a few days before Hermes came to collect Melanantho to bring her to the Underworld. She and I shared a brief, yet tearful and touching, farewell; then she was gone, for eternity. The memory I have of her broken eyes still saddens me—such a beautiful woman she was. But now I am told that she is wasting away in the Underworld, taking her husband’s place in complete isolation. She resides with others who suffer the same endless fate, but they cannot see each other, hear each other, touch each other. Each shade in this region is utterly alone. Melanantho always thrived on relationships and social activity, so naturally this punishment is destroying everything that is left of her. I feel for the woman, for she was almost kin to me through virtue, yet I can do nothing. Perhaps there is something you can do for the once-lovely woman when you return to your dark husband…”

As Selene brought her tale to a close with this vague request, Persephone nodded and lifted her eyes to gaze at Selene. “You did indeed tell a sad and touching story, dark beauty of the night. I will try and persuade my stubborn husband to give up your maiden’s poor soul, for as it seems, she does not deserve such eternal punishment. If it is decreed by the Fates, then it must be so; however, I will see what I can do.” Persephone bid the goddess of the moon farewell and completed her journey to the Underworld, far below the warm and fruitful Earth.

Upon arrival, she greeted Hades, who was glad to see the beautiful face of his wife. In this brief welcoming time before she settled in, Persephone brought up the story of Melanantho and asked that the woman be spared from the eternity she was doomed to. Hades lifted a brow at his goddess, and questioned how this could be possible. “My dear, the Fates know all, and if they say this is how it should be, then I must oblige. If this were not the way of the world, all would fall into disorder and imbalance.”

Persephone had considered this conflict, and had already thought up a possible solution. “I am not proposing that we change her situation, but perhaps we can make it more comfortable and honorable for her. I ask this for dear Selene, whose concern has touched my immortal heart. Please, my husband, do this for me, to lighten the dread of my yearly death.”

Dark Hades decided to give way to his wife, lest she cause him trouble throughout her stay. “Very well, lovely goddess, do as you wish with her… but do not twist or tempt Fate, for I do not wish to face their terrible power.”

At this, Persephone went to Melanantho’s shade, who was so lost in isolation that she did not even notice the goddess’s approach. Persephone laid a glowing hand on the woman’s shoulder and spoke to her, “Selene sends her love, and wishes for you to be saved. So powerful was her story of you to mine ears that I wish for it, too. I cannot bend the will of the Fates, but perhaps I can do you some small favor. Farewell, lovely maiden—you shall not be forgotten.” Persephone then took Melanantho and flung her out of the Underworld, through the mortal realm, and into the heavens. The woman’s broken form grew smaller and brighter as it flew farther away, until she became a lone star, somewhat separate from the other stars in the heavens.

Melanantho’s story slowly became known to the earthly world, as its details passed from the divine beings down to the mortals. It was not until the end of his life that Xanthoteles discovered the true tale about his former wife, and was deeply saddened. “Look, Callimene,” he addressed his partner, “she suffers there in the heavens, for me. She gave up a lovely immortal eternity, for me. I have never forgotten her, but I never knew that her afterlife was so pained. She could not have been more loving and loyal on my behalf, and how may I repay her? She is gone, forever, and I am an old man, no longer capable of great and glorious deeds. Perhaps she can still hear my prayers of gratitude… So I will send them to her each night, while gazing at her lone star—each night until the day Thanatos steals my last breath.” Xanthoteles kept this vow, never forgetting nor disregarding Melanantho’s part in his life.

Others, impressed by this return of love, followed the old man’s example and turned to Melanantho’s star to honor those who had given their lives for the good of others. Her star would be forever regarded with a certain sadness, mixed with respect and tribute. The gorgeous woman was in this way remembered and honored for gracefully fulfilling her tragic fate, and none would deny her courage and selflessness. And so, the lovely Melanantho deservedly became known to the world as the true beauty she was.