Comaetho (priestess)

Legend

Near Patrae, Artemis Triclaria was worshipped with an annual festival and vigils. The goddess's priesthood was held by a virgin until she was given to a husband. Comaetho, the most beautiful maiden in town, was chosen as priestess. She fell in love with Melanippus, the most capable and handsome young man, but when they sought to marry, both sets of parents refused with harsh words. Unable to wed, the pair became secret lovers and met inside the temple, using it as a bridechamber. The goddess, enraged by the sacrilege, cursed Patrae with crop failure, famine, and peculiar lethal diseases that crippled the people. The Patreans consulted the Oracle of Delphi, and the Pythia declared that Artemis would only be appeased if Comaetho and Melanippus were sacrificed to her, and thereafter each year the most beautiful maiden and most handsome young man must be sacrificed. The local river, previously nameless, was called Ameilichus because of all the deaths. Many youths perished, but Pausanias wrote that Comaetho and Melanippus were beyond sorrow, having loved and been loved. The sacrifices ended when Eurypylus arrived in Patrae, bringing the worship of Dionysus from Troy, which also cured his madness from looking at the god's image.