Chloris

Chloris is a figure from the heroic age who appears in the Odyssey during Odysseus's account of his journey to the Underworld. As he recounts the shades of famous women summoned by Persephone, he describes Chloris as the youngest daughter of Amphion, son of Iasus and king of Minyan Orchomenus. Her significance in the poem lies not in her own actions but in her genealogical and narrative function: she is the wife of Neleus, the mother of the wise king Nestor, and the central figure in a story that illustrates the heroic economy of bride-price and the perils of a seemingly impossible quest.

Lineage and Marriage

Odysseus introduces Chloris by emphasizing her beauty and the high price Neleus paid for her hand. He states that Neleus married her for her beauty, having given "priceless presents" for her. This detail places Chloris within the epic tradition of women whose value is measured by the bride-wealth they command, a transaction that underscores her desirability and her husband's status. As the daughter of Amphion, a king of Orchomenus, she comes from a line of considerable power, and her marriage to Neleus, the king of Pylos, forges a significant dynastic alliance. Her primary legacy, however, is her children. She bore Nestor, who would become the aged and wise counselor of the Achaeans at Troy, as well as Chromius and Periclymenus. She also gave birth to a daughter, Pero, who is described as "marvellously lovely" and whose own story becomes a crucial part of Chloris's narrative.

The Story of Pero and the Seer

The most developed part of Chloris's appearance in the Odyssey is the story of her daughter Pero's marriage. Neleus, Chloris's husband, would only give Pero in marriage to the man who could raid the cattle of Iphicles from the grazing grounds of Phylace, a task of immense difficulty. The only man who would undertake this dangerous raid was a certain excellent seer, Melampus. The will of heaven was against him, however, and the rangers of the cattle caught him and put him in prison. He remained captive for a full year until the same season came round again, at which point Iphicles set him at liberty after Melampus had expounded all the oracles of heaven. The story concludes with the observation that "thus, then, was the will of Jove accomplished." This embedded tale serves multiple purposes: it highlights the extreme value placed on Pero, it demonstrates the kind of heroic labor required to win a bride in the epic world, and it connects Chloris's family line to the prophetic tradition of Melampus, a figure who appears elsewhere in the poem.

Narrative Role and Significance

Chloris's role in the Odyssey is that of a genealogical anchor and a narrative device. She is one of the many "wives and daughters of heroes" whom Odysseus catalogs during his Nekyia, a passage that serves to demonstrate his wide knowledge of heroic lore and to connect his own story to the broader tapestry of Greek myth. Her inclusion, alongside figures like Tyro, Antiope, and Alcmena, places her within a sequence of women who were mothers to great heroes. Her primary function is to be the mother of Nestor, a character of immense importance in the Telemachy, and her story provides a mythological backdrop for the themes of bride-price, quest, and divine will that resonate throughout the epic. She is a flat character in E. M. Forster's sense, built around a single idea—the beautiful bride whose value is proven by the impossible task set for her suitor—but she is essential for establishing the heroic lineage and the narrative texture of the Underworld episode.