Menippe and Metioche
Daughters of Orion who sacrificed themselves to end a plague.
Menippe and Metioche are figures in Greek mythology, the daughters of the hunter Orion. Their story, preserved in the works of Ovid and Antoninus Liberalis, is a brief myth about human sacrifice.
Quick Facts
- Parents
- Orion and an unnamed mother
- Homeland
- Aonia at the base of Mt. Helicon
- Deities involved
- Apollo Gortynius
- Persephone
- Hades
- Method of death
- Killed themselves with their shuttles
- Transformation
- Bodies metamorphosed into comets
- Sanctuary location
- Near Orchomenus
- Died
- Killed themselves with shuttles
- Field
- Greek mythology
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- After Orion was killed by Artemis, the girls were raised by their mother.
- Athena taught them the art of weaving and Aphrodite gave them beauty.
- In other sources, Orion's first wife is called Side.
Mythology
When a plague struck Aonia, the oracle of Apollo Gortynius declared that the gods of the Underworld required the voluntary sacrifice of two maidens. No other girls were willing, but Menippe and Metioche offered themselves for their country. After thrice invoking the infernal gods, they killed themselves with their shuttles, appeasing Persephone and Hades. The deities took pity and turned their bodies into comets. The Aonians built a sanctuary near Orchomenus, where youths and maidens annually offered a propitiatory sacrifice. The Aeolians called these maidens Coronides. In Ovid's version, the unnamed daughters of Orion sacrifice themselves during a plague indicated by a withered tree and gaunt goats; from their ashes two youths called Coroni arise and lead the funeral train.
More in Human Sacrifice in Folklore and Mythology
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