Melinoë (Greek Μηλινόη) is a
chthonic nymph or goddess invoked in one of the
Orphic Hymns and propitiated as a bringer of nightmares and madness. She may also be the figure named in a few inscriptions from
Anatolia, and she appears on a bronze tablet in association with
Persephone. The hymns, of uncertain date but probably composed in the 2nd or 3rd century AD, are
liturgical texts for the
mystery religion known as
Orphism. In the
hymn, Melinoë has characteristics that seem similar to
Hecate and the
Erinyes, and the name is sometimes thought to be an
epithet of Hecate. The terms in which Melinoë is described are typical of moon goddesses in Greek poetry.