In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Melaina was a Corycian

Corycian

The Corycian Nymphs were the three Naiads of the sacred springs of the Corycian Cave of Mount Parnassus in Phocis. The names of the nymphs are Corycia, Kleodora and Melaina; their father's name was Kephisos or Pleistos....

 nymph

Nymph

A nymph in Greek mythology is a female minor nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from gods, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing;...

, or member of the prophetic Thriae

Thriae

The Thriae or Thriai were nymphs, three virginal sisters, one of a number of such triads in Greek mythology who were able to see the future and interpret the signs of nature and omens, a gift they taught Apollo, who passed it to Hermes...

, of the springs of Delphi

Delphi

Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...

 in Phocis

Phocis

Phocis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gulf of Corinth...

, who was loved by Apollo

Apollo

Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...

 bearing him Delphos

Delphos

Delphos may refer to:* Delphos , the son of Apollo in Greek mythology; Delphi was named for him* Isle of Delphos, a former name for the island of Delos, mythological birth place of ApolloPlaces in the United States:* Delphos, California...

. Her father was the local river-gods Kephisos, or Pleistos of northern Boeotia

Boeotia

Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...

. Her name meant the black suggesting she presides over subterranean

Hades

Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...

 aspects. Melaina was also identified with Thyia

Thyia

According to a quotation from Hesiod's lost work Eoiae or Catalogue of Women, preserved in the De Thematibus of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Thyia was the daughter of Deucalion and Pyrrha and mother of Magnes and Makednos by Zeus.In the Delphic tradition, Thyia was also the naiad of a spring on...

 who is named as the mother of Delphos

Delphos

Delphos may refer to:* Delphos , the son of Apollo in Greek mythology; Delphi was named for him* Isle of Delphos, a former name for the island of Delos, mythological birth place of ApolloPlaces in the United States:* Delphos, California...

in other traditions. In some legends, she is called the daughter of Persephone and Hades.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________she is also known to some as the goddess of nightmares