[[File:The Melite plateau (51006453211).jpg|thumb|The Melite plateau]] '''Melite''' ({{langx|grc|Μελίτη}}) was a [[deme]] of [[ancient Attica]], located in the city centre of [[ancient Athens|Athens]], within the walls erected by [[Themistocles]] and to the west of the [[Acropolis of Athens|Acropolis]]. It included the [[Agora of Athens|Agora]] and the [[Pnyx]]. It belonged to the tribe of [[Kekropis]].
== Etymology == The name of the deme derives from [[Melite (heroine)|Melite]], daughter of [[Myrmex (mythology)|Myrmex]]. It was said that she had initiated [[Heracles]] into the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]], and some sources portray her as the mother of Heracles' son, [[Hyllus]].<ref name=Aristophanes>Scoliast. ad Aristophanes, [[The Frogs]] 504.</ref> In the 19th and 20th centuries, it was believed that the name had a Phoenician influence, in fact it is homophone of the ancient names of the island of [[Malta]] and of [[Samothrace]]; today, however, it is believed that the toponym derives from the word "honey" ({{langx|grc|μέλι|méli}}).
== Description == Besides the [[Pnyx]] and the public buildings of the agora, in Melite there was also the [[Temple of Hephaestus]]. There was also a sanctuary of [[Heracles]], with a statue by [[Phidias]] or his teacher [[Ageladas]] erected to commemorate the end of an epidemic in 429 BCE.<ref name=Aristophanes/><ref>{{cite book | author = [[John Tzetzes]] | title = Chiliades | volume = VIII |page= 191}}</ref>
[[Eurysaces]], son of [[Ajax the Great]], was the owner of a sanctuary in which he was venerated along with his father.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Solon'' 10.</ref> It was said that he migrated with his brother to Athens and granted the Athenians the [[Salamis Island|island of Salamis]] in exchange for citizenship; this myth was probably current in the 6th century BCE to justify the Athenian conquest of Salamis. Many of Eurysaces' descendants became prominent aristocrats and priests, including [[Alcibiades]].
In the deme, there was also a temple of [[Theseus]], which it was said contained his grave. Tradition said that the original inhabitants of the deme emigrated to [[Diomea (Attica)|Diomea]], where they brought with them the cult of Heracles.
Melite was a very populous place: among the non-native inhabitants of here, there were [[Epicurus]], who left his home to the successive heads of his school; [[Callias II]]; [[Phocion]]; [[Themistocles]], who had a temple to [[Artemis]] built near his house.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Themistocles'' 22.</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{coord|37.975|N|23.719|E|display=title|format=dms|source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/31202}}
[[Category:Populated places in ancient Attica]] [[Category:Former populated places in Greece]] [[Category:Demoi]]
{{AncientAttica-geo-stub}}