One of Zeus' daughters, a muse named Melpomene fell in love with a mortal named Galinthias. They bore a very beautiful child whom they later called Ianthe. On Ianthe's first birth year, Melpomene was visited by Apollo, the God of Truth, in her dreams.
"Your daughter will die in the arms of a man who will betray her," he prophesized.
Melpomene woke up in tears. That very same day she took the little child up to Helicon, a mountain where muses like herself dwell. There she had Daedelus, a great architect, construct a small hole beneath Helicon's soil where her dearest daughter could live in safety. Daedelus was the master himself, and no mortal could break through, let alone find, the fortress he built for Melpomene's daughter. In the years to come, young men from all corners of the earth would appear and attempt to free the lovely maiden.
Melpomene, delighted that she has now provided the ultimate protection against Apollo's evil prophecy returned to Athens with peace in her heart.
On the foot of Helicon there lived a dearly loved farmer named Feodor. He was very handsome that some even proclaimed he surpassed that of the twelve Olympians. It was no surprise then that he became Aphrodite's mortal favorite. With Demeter's aid, the Goddess of Harvest, his farm bloomed in abundance. Even during the nastiest storms or Aeolous' fierce winds, Feodor produced the most fruitful.
Many years later, Feodor, already a man in his prime age, sought Delphi, Apollo's oracle, to claim his destiny. There a seer told him of Apollo's truth.
"Up Helicon's hills seek the maiden in despair. Wed her and become the father of her children."
Feodor cried, "A woman, she is my destiny?". Then more solemnly he whispered, "But I, whom the Gods have favored and given prosperity, dare not defy the God of Light."
The seer looked at him with tears in his eyes. "You will love her more than your life. This is all I'm permitted to say."
The night before Feodor's journey, he was visited by a vision of Apollo in one of his guises. There he was a fine-looking horse with hooves made out of gold, and a flowing mane that of silver.
"A divine guide will be in aid. Bring with you enough water as this is the key to her freedom".
The next day Feodor started his quest. He battled with centaurs and met mountain nymphs. As he was nearing the peak, a very beautiful bird suddenly flew above him and landed on a tree. Believing this as his sign, Feodor unloaded the barrels he had tied upon his back and rolled them over until their contents spilled out. Rich water flowed until the soil became dry - all but one spot. Feodor had discovered the entrance to the hidden fortress.
With Aphrodite's loving hand and Apollo's light guiding them, Feodor finally found Ianthe, hidden in one of the many holes where hideous creatures dwell, waiting for a mortal fool dare make the wrong step.
Feodor and Ianthe looked into each others' eyes and instantly fell in love. Even Eros' arrows of love could not match that of their feelings toward each other. Feodor took Ianthe with him in Athens where they married and had four wonderful children.
Years later, Melpomene was again visited by Apollo in her dreams. He said to her:
"Your daughter has wed and is now a mother herself. Dear muse, Ianthe deserved love and love has freed her. Do not mourn for her fate, but the fate of so many others who have not come to know what love is. I am the God of Truth and no shadow can darken it. But during these times when a sad prophecy is delivered, I pity my own fate. Tears are greatest from those of a mother's - yours, Melpomene. Now now, do not cry."
Over the years Feodor and Ianthe lived in peace. Gods have favored them and their children, bringing about the constant growth of their farm which benefited others as well.
One day, as Feodor went about his work, another vision of Apollo appeared before him. This time it was a beautiful bull with horns made out of copper. He knew Delphi calls for him again.
The same seer welcomed him in the temple. There was a pained look upon his face as he said, "I fear that years after the last time you sought me I shall find you here once more for the truth I myself could not bear upon my shoulders."
He took Feodor's hands and with quivering lips, he delivered Apollo's message: "Ianthe will die in an illness no mortal ways can save. Death will spread in your family and blood will pour in like rain. In your arms her last breath will be".
Feodor cried, "That... That I will not permit! I will take her back, even from Hades himself!"
"There is a way," the seer went on. "Go to Thebes and seek for Dionysus' seer. Drink with him until he has approved of you and provide you with Dionysus' divine wine. But listen to me, Feodor. The God of Wine is a merciful God, but displease him in any way a man can, and he will punish the sinners. Even the innocent ones cannot escape his wrath."
Feodor agreed and no sooner has he gone home to tell his wife, Ianthe fell as the Fates struck her ill.
Meanwhile, up in Mt. Olympus, Melpomene begged before her father to help Feodor. Zeus smiled but was unusually cheerless. "The mortal does his own business," he said. "Ah, tears! That from my children I cannot bear! Come along now, we shall send Hermes to aid your daughter's husband."
"Mortals and Gods, we are all the same," Zeus went on. "We have destinies which we all must fulfill."
In Thebes, Feodor went to Dionysus' temple and prayed for help. Hermes appeared. On his feet were winged sandals, his hat had wings too, and on his hand he held his Caduceus.
"This is my father's gift," Hermes handed him a bottle of wine. "Present this to the man you seek, so that he may provide you with your need at once."
Feodor spent countless nights seeking for the seer of Dionysus. His magical bottle kept filling in as he made his journey.
One lonely night, when the skies had no stars to guide lost travelers, Feodor went into the woods to rest. There, somewhere in the darkness, he heard cheerful singing.
What he found were maenads, dancing and feasting around a crackling fire. An elderly man with rich flowing hair waved at him in delight.
"Here we have a man who's away from his wife! Come Feodor, drink with us!" he called.
Feodor was surprised that he knew his name. Later he then realized that the man was Hesperos, the seer of Dionysus. With tears that never seemed to end, he told him of his tale.
"For tonight let us be merry," the seer said. "Tomorrow you will have it, our God's tears that heal all ills."
As Helios, the Sun God, pulled his majestic chariot to signal the break of day, Hesperos handed him a small vial which contained Dionysus' tears. "A drop is sufficient. She will be saved, though not by this divine liquid, but through your compassion and love." Then he, along with the maenads, disappeared deeper into the woods, still dancing and singing as they went.
In joyous tears Feodor started his journey back home. Along the way, he met with a band traveling musicians. They welcomed him as their guest and provided him with food and shelter.
Over dinner that night, one of the women said "Oh come and tell us your adventures!"
Satisfied that the worst has come to past, Feodor told him of his quests.
"A magic potion, you say?" an older man asked as Feodor went about his journey in Thebes.
"That's correct," Feodor answered proudly. "Dionysus' tears that cures all mortal or divine wounds!"
"We have a sister who may need a drop or two," another suggested. "She is terribly ill and may be dying."
"No," Feodor interrupted, aware of what was about to come about. "A drop is sufficient, but what then of the times in the future when she may need another? My children? I have traveled a long way, battled with creatures you may never see in your entire lives! I will not permit it."
"All we ask is a drop, you dare decline us? We who allowed you to feast on our table and share our beds?"
Clouded in desperation to escape and save his wife, Feodor struck them all dead. He found their sick sister, wrapped in thick goatskin, burning with fever.
"Your death shall be quicker than the others," Feodor whispered. "I cannot spare you, for your children may one day grow up and avenge the death of your family and slay my sons and their sons. " He raised his knife and plunged it to her throat.
The God of Wine was witness to all these. Above in Mt Olympus he prepared himself for his most wicked punishment.
Back in Athens, Feodor called for his wife and children. The door flew open yet what he saw were not his beautiful sons and daughters, but hideous beasts. Lions, wolves and snakes. As one wolf revealed its deadly fangs while another leaped at him, Feodor took out his knife and killed them all.
Finally Dionysus lifted the veil that blinded Feodor from reality. There upon the floor were not the creatures he slew, but his children, covered in their blood and limbs torn apart. Lying on his feet was his dearest Ianthe, looking up at him with tears and agony.
"You returned," she managed to whisper.
Feodor dropped to his knees and was soon stoned in grief. The Gods took pity on him as they watched from the heavens. Tears kept flowing, as they seemed to go on forever. With his hand on her face, Freodor whispered, "Without you, there's nothing else for me. I will keep you forever by my side. But if not here, then on the next world."
He took the knife that had killed so many others already and stabbed it into his heart.
Hermes appeared before Melpomene, his own eyes swollen with tears. "So it has come to pass. Provide them with proper burial so that they may cross the rivers to eternal peace."
"How cruel, how unjust!" Melpome protested. "A mother to bury her daughter? Slay me also, so that I may be with Ianthe, I who she has not known, I who had loved her more than her husband did!"
"You will not do so, if you don't want to anger our father," Hermes explained lightly. "Come with me in Mt Olympus, and be basked with love from the others."
After the burial, Melpomene returned to Zeus and her sisters. As for her mortal husband, no one really knew. Some said he also went up to the heavens with her, but others said Zeus did not accept him and was banished in an island outside Athens.
Feodor and Ianthe, together with their children, had crossed the paths to the Elysian fields, a place in the underworld where everything was delightful. Soft green meadows, lovely groves, a delicious life-giving air, sunlight that glowed softly purple, an abode of peace and blessedness.
Feodor stayed with Ianthe for thousand or more years until the time when they had to drink from Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, to be reborn, to have new lives, and to find each other again.