Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, more precisely in the epic tradition recounted in

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'', Dolius or Dolios (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

: Δολίος) was a slave of Penelope whom she had received from her father

Icarius In Greek mythology, there were two people named Icarius (; grc, Ἰκάριος ''Ikários''). *Icarius, a Spartan prince, son of Perieres. *Icarius, an Athenian who received Dionysus.Apollodorus, 3.14.7 See also *Icarus, whose wings failed in fli ...

on occasion of her marriage to

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...

. He served as a gardener.

Family

Dolius had at least seven sons, including Melanthius, and at least one daughter,

Melantho In Greek mythology, Melantho (; Ancient Greek: Μελανθώ) may refer to the following women: * Melantho, also called Melanthea, a Phthian princess as the daughter of King Deucalion and Pyrrha, daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora. She was not ...

. His wife was a slave from

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, whose name is not given.

Mythology

After Odysseus' identity had finally been revealed, Dolius heartily welcomed Odysseus in his home, expressing great joy to see his master alive and well. Later, he and his six sons were among the loyal servants who joined Odysseus to stand against the relatives of the slain suitors.Homer, ''Odyssey'' 24.496–497

Notes

References

, ''The Odyssey'' with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
Characters in the Odyssey {{Greek-myth-stub