the Nymphs not only turned men away from eating each other to eating only this product of the forest trees, but also introduced into the world of men the feeling of modesty. In addition, the ancient Greek philosopher, Porphyry (233 to c. 304 AD) wrote of the priestesses of Demeter, known as Melissae ("bees"), who were initiates of the chthonian goddess. The story surrounding Melissae tells of an elderly priestess of Demeter, named Melissa, initiated into her mysteries by the goddess herself. When Melissa's neighbors tried to make her reveal the secrets of her initiation, she remained silent, never letting a word pass from her lips. In anger, the women tore her to pieces, but Demeter sent a plague upon them, causing bees to be born from Melissa's dead body. From Porphyry's writings, scholars have also learned that Melissa was the name of the moon goddess Artemis and the goddess who took suffering away from mothers giving birth. Souls were symbolized by bees and it was Melissa who drew souls down to be born. She was connected with the idea of a periodic regeneration. Melitta The variant spelling/pronunciation Melitta is the Attic Greek dialect for Melissa. (Compare the Attic word for sea, thalatta, with the more common thalassa.) Within a fragment of the Orphic poetry, quoted by Natalis Comes, Melitta is spoken of as a hive, and called Seira, or the hive of Venus: Let us celebrate the hive of Venus, who rose from the sea: that hive of many names: the mighty fountain, from whence all kings are descended; from whence all the winged and immortal Loves were again produced. From the works of Hesychius, it is clear that the word Seira among other interpretations signified Melitta, a bee; also a hive, or house of Melitta, "[s]uch is the sense of it in this passage: and [she] was thus represented in ancient mythology, as being the receptacle, from whence issued that swarm, by which the world was peopled". With that said, Seira was none other than the goddess Demeter, the supposed mother of mankind; who was also styled as Melitta and Melissa, and was looked upon as the Venus of the East. This Deity, Melitta, was the same as Mylitta, the well-known Venus of the Babylonians and Arabians. Melissa or Melitta is also said to be the mother-wife of Phoroneus, the first that reigned, in whose days the dispersion