Comaetho (priestess)
mythical priestess, lover of Melanippus
In ancient Greek mythology and folklore, Comaetho (Ancient Greek: Κομαιθώ, romanized: Komaithṓ, lit. 'bright-haired') is a legendary heroine who served Artemis Triclaria in Patrae as virgin priestess. Comaetho fell in love with Melanippus, and unable to marry him, she consorted with him in secret inside the temple, earning the goddess' wrath. Artemis then sent famine and plague to the city. Her tale is preserved in the Description of Greece, a travel guide by second-century traveller Pausanias.
Legend
Near Patrae, Artemis Triclaria ("she of the three allotments") was worshipped, with a festival and vigils celebrated each year in her honour. The priesthood of the goddess was held by a virgin until it was time for her to be given to her new husband.
Local legend had it that Comaetho was the most beautiful maiden in town, and was chosen to serve as priestess to Artemis Triclaria. She fell in love with Melanippus, who was the most capable and handsome among his peers, but when the pair expressed their desire to marry, both their parents opposed the marriage and refused to let them wed with harsh words when Melanippus asked for Comaetho's hand in marriage. So instead Comaetho and Melanippus became lovers in secret, and would often meet and have sex inside the goddess' temple as if it were a bridechamber. The goddess was enraged at the grave sacrilege they committed, so she cursed Patrae with crop failure, famine and peculiar but lethal diseases that crippled the Patreans.
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