Melanippe

The daughter of Desmontes, and by Poseidon the mother of Aeolus III and Boeotus. She is also mentioned as the daughter of Aeolus I, who entrusted her into the care of Desmontes.

When Desmontes discovered that his daughter was with child, he blinded her and imprisoned her, after which he exposed the children in the wilderness. A cow in milk came to the children and offered them her udders, and cowherds, seeing this, took he children to rear. They were were taken to king Metapontus and his wife Theano in Icaria, who raised them.

Theano later gave birth to two sons and when they were grown she instructed them to kill the older boys so that they might inherit their father's kingdom. The attack failed and they were killed, whereupon Boeotus and Aeolus fled to the shepherds where they had been reared, and there Poseidon revealed to them that they were his sons and that their mother Melanippe was held in custody. They went to Desmontes, killed him, and freed their mother, whose sight Poseidon restored.

Her sons brought her to Icaria to king Metapontus, and revealed Theano's treachery to him. After this, Metapontus married Melanippe, and adopted the two as his sons.

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