Melantho is the maidservant of Penelope known for her disloyalty to Odysseus. Although Penelope once raised and favored her, Melantho becomes closely associated with the suitors who consume Odysseus's household during his absence.
Melantho is described as Eurymachus's lover and as one of the women who sleep with the suitors. She helps expose Penelope's strategy of weaving Laertes's burial shroud by day and secretly unraveling it at night, allowing the suitors to pressure Penelope more aggressively.
When Odysseus returns to Ithaca disguised as a beggar, Melantho treats him with contempt. Her hostility is especially striking because Odysseus is the master of the household and because Penelope had previously cared for Melantho almost like a daughter.
Melantho is easily confused with Melanthius, her brother, who is a male goatherd and another disloyal figure in the household. Eurycleia, by contrast, is Penelope and Odysseus's loyal nurse and recognizes Odysseus by the scar on his leg.