Melitta

Melitta
First appearance	S0E01: Past Transgressions
Last appearance	S0E05: Reckoning
Profession	Body Slave
Race	Hispanic
Relationships	Quintus Lentulus Batiatus (Dominus, deceased) Lucretia (Domina, deceased) Oenomaus (Husband, deceased) Gannicus (Friend/Lover, deceased) Naevia (Friend, deceased) Diona (Friend, deceased)
Status	Accidentally Poisoned by Lucretia
Actor/Actress	Marisa Ramirez

Melitta is the wife of Oenomaus and servant in Batiatus' Ludus. She appears exclusively in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

Appearance

Melitta is a beautiful woman with long black hair, olive skin, and large, distinct hazel-colored eyes. Being a body slave, she wears better attire than the other slaves, as well as discrete slave collars around her ankles that resemble jewlery.

Personality

Melitta has proven to be a "round" character. Despite being a slave to Batiatus and Lucretia, Melitta works diligently to please her masters. She cares about those around her enough to offer advice to the other slave girls, yet keeps a cool temperament with soft humor mixed with respect. She bears even greater loyalty to her husband, Oenomaus, encouraging him when he sulks for not being chosen as Batiatus' champion, and giving him hope when he despairs. She also has feelings for Gannicus, despite being married.

The Shadow of Death

When Oenomaus fights Theokoles in the arena, Melitta watches as her husband fights valiantly against the large Greek. Oenomaus proves himself Theokoles' greatest challenge, but is on the brink of death against him. Seeing her husband close to death Melitta cries out. Theokoles hears this and, moved by her love, allows Oenomaus a moment to reclaim his weapon. It is at this moment the editor of the games ends the match and concluded both gladiators victorious.

Gods of the Arena

Melitta is seen talking with Diona and Naevia talking about men. She is later seen with her husband comforting him over his time out of the arena and tells him that she would be present at his return before they make love.

She is present at Gannicus' fight in the marketplace and is worried as he fights blindfolded, and is relived and happy at his victory.

When Varus visits the villa and Gannicus is produced for his viewing. Varus is fascinated by Gannicus but, feeling too tired for physical exertion, wishes to see Gannicus have sex with one of the slaves. Melitta is the only one nearby. Lucretia, who respects Melitta, attempts to intercede but is quickly stopped by her husband, who is eager to please their guest. After the act, which both Melitta and Gannicus start to enjoy in the end, they started to develop feelings. This turns to tears and shame afterwards, and Melitta mentions nothing of it to Oenomaus.

Melitta and Gannicus.

While she tells Gannicus to put the event out of mind, but he appears in her dream, even though she avoids his gaze in person. The two meet during the night of pleasures that Lucretia and Gaia organized, and Gannicus professes his love for her. They kiss but Melitta flees, confused. Oenomaus notices Gannicus' cold demeanor towards him, but attributes it to his new position as Doctore instead of Gannicus' feelings for Melitta. In the meantime, Melitta avoids Gannicus. 

Melitta's face.

During the battles that Titus arranges within the ludus, Gannicus looks up towards Melitta and becomes distracted, dropping his guard. He tells her this when she is down in the ludus that evening, and says that all the wine and prostitutes he could buy mean nothing in comparison to her. Melitta tells him in return that she has known no greater love than that when she holds her husband, and abandons him to escort Crixus to the villa.

The next day, Gannicus fights Crixus in the battles to determine the true champion of the ludus. He is heartbroken from Melitta's dismissal and drops his guard to look up at her in the villa, allowing Crixus to win the battle and knowingly deciding his fate; if he loses the battle, he is to be sold to Tullius.

Melitta's death.

Melitta is distraught and, with Lucretia's knowledge, visits Gannicus at night, while Oenomaus is away, with a stolen amphora of wine. Gannicus refuses the wine, but Melitta drinks some as Gannicus reflects on his affections for her as she confesses that she has been hiding her feelings for Gannicus as well. She kisses him and they move to the bed, but are interrupted when Melitta suddenly starts coughing and choking on blood. The wine she brought was the poisoned amphora of wine Lucretia used to poison Titus. Melitta soon dies in Gannicus's arms as he breaks down in sadness and horror, begging her to breathe.

Her body is carried to the villa and Lucretia, in shock, orders Gannicus to leave so that Oenomaus may not know Melitta was with him. When Oenomaus returns, he finds Melitta's body on a table and is overcome with grief.

Blood and Sand

Melitta is mentioned by Oenomaus when Spartacus visits his cell in Delicate Things. He is shown to have kept her shrine intact in their cell, to honor her memory.

Vengeance

After Ashur captures Oenomaus and attempts but fails to torture him into revealing the whereabouts of the Rebels, Lucretia reveals to Ashur the truth behind Melitta's fate. Ashur in turn reveals this to Oenomaus to break him. Oenomaus is shocked and devastated when he learns that Melitta had been with Gannicus the night she died and had slept with him previously (though their first sexual encounter was not by choice). Later, when facing Gannicus in the arena, Oenomaus confronts him about Melitta's death. When Gannicus confirms it is true, it prompts Oenomaus to attack him in a near-blind rage. Although Oenomaus later desists from his attempt to kill Gannicus, it is clear that Gannicus's relationship with Melitta has driven a wedge between them. Their bond is eventually mended however, and after being mortally wounded saving Gannicus, Oenomaus draws comfort from his belief that he will be reunited with Melitta in the afterlife.

War of the Damned

In Enemies of Rome, Melitta is mentioned by Gannicus to Spartacus and appears in flashbacks. In an extended scene in Victory, Gannicus briefly mentions Melitta; he tells Sibyl that should he fall in battle, he will wait for her on the shores of the afterlife, with Melitta and Oenomaus to keep him company.

Trivia

• Melitta and Oenomaus, being slaves, could not legally marry, and so their 'marriage' would have only been seen as ceremonial. Successful Gladiators were able to adopt a married life, and even father children with their domini's consent, as either a reward for their prowess in the arena, or as a way to make them more content with their lives inside the Ludus.
• Melitta is probably from Hispania, taking references from this when Gannicus asked Oenomaus if he would see her ashes beneath the ground. Many cultures of the Iberian Peninsula buried the urns underground.
• The Tera Necropolis in Alentejo, Portugal was found to contain a number of buried funerary urns, in the manner Melitta's ashes were buried. The Turduli tribe, who are believed to have been of Celtic stock, were historically settled in the Alentejo region.
• Melitta may originate from the formerly-Phoenician province of Turditania (later Hispania Baetica, now modern day Andalucia), or alternately, she may be from of one of the southern Iberian tribes, such as the Bastetani (Almeria, Granada and Albacete), the Turduli (Alentejo, southern Portugal and Extremadura) or the Edetani (Valencia).
• As a personal body slave of Lucretia, Melitta would have been known as an Amanuensis, meaning "within hand's reach". The literal term for "female body slave" in Latin is Serva Corporis. A female house slave would also have been known as an Ancilla, "handmaiden".
• The name Melitta is Greek in origin, meaning 'honey bee'. It survives in modern English as Melissa, which is coincidentally how the word was pronounced in Homeric Greek.
• Melitta's comments in Gods of the Arena as to what Oenomaus and Gannicus would do should they be forced to face each other in the arena would foreshadow the events of Libertus, in which this occurs.
• Neither Oenomaus nor Gannicus ever discovered that Lucretia was indirectly responsible for Melitta's death, as she poisoned the amphora of wine intended for Titus Batiatus which she afterwards took with her to Gannicus's cell and drank from, accidentally causing her death. Both of them blamed Tullius as they believed he poisoned Titus's wine (the wine was in fact a gift from Tullius) and thus indirectly Melitta.
• Melitta has a marking/tattoo on her right leg that spells "Servus (Servvs) Batiati (Possibly Batiatus). It's only seen for a few seconds during her final love-making scene with Gannicus,

Melitta's tattoo, as seen in Reckoning

Quotes

"The memory will fade with time, as do all things born of misfortune."

"Some acts cannot be avoided when stripped of choice or clothes."

"You joke of killing a man you love when someday you may be asked to."

"... Gannicus heeds nothing but his own desires, beyond all reason."

Gannicus: "It is a curse, being blessed with so much to offer!"
Melitta: "And so few interested in sharing it."

Oenomaus: "I have done a terrible thing."
Melitta: "We do what we must in this house."