Melinoe

"Where are your ghosts?"

- Melinoe

Melinoe (Μελινοε in Ancient Greek) is the goddess of ghosts, sometimes confused with Hecate. She wandered the earth every night with a train of ghosts, scaring anyone in their path. This was said to be the reason why dogs bark at nothing at night.

The Sword of Hades
Melinoe shows Ethan Nakamura the way out of the Underworld, and on the appearance of Thalia, Percy, and Nico takes on the form of Thalia and Nico's mothers to confuse and torment them, but they do not fool Percy, who breaks the illusion. He swings at her with his sword, and she dodges, only to be hit by Thalia with an arrow. She then vanishes into the fog.

Personality
Melinoe is dissatisfied with Hades rule over the Underworld, and the fact she cannot haunt the mortals of the human world by day. She opts for Kronos to rule, as she is promised that she will be able to haunt whenever she wants. Her somewhat nasty personality could have been brought on by the bitterness of her parents seeming to not take much interest in her. This could have also prompted her switching of sides.

Appearance
Melinoe is a strange goddess, and her appearance is frightening. Her left side is black and hardened like a mummy, to represent her father, the dark god of the Underworld, Hades. Her right side is pale and chalky as if she were drained of all her blood, to show the bright Persephone, her mother. She wears a golden dress and a golden shawl, and her eyes are empty black voids. However, seeing her in this form is unlikely, as, being the goddess of ghosts, she can appear as whomever she wants, haunting people in their nightmares and in person if ever directly confronted. The illusion is so strong that even when normal, her immediate victims still see her as the ghost.

Abilities
Melinoe can take on the appearance of the dead people in a person's life, using guilt and anger from the person as an ally or as an advantage in battle. She then uses this to destroy them.

Etymology

 * Her name means "Dark Thought" in greek.