Mljet was discovered by ancient Greco-Roman
geographers, who wrote the first records and descriptions. The island was first
described by Scylax of Caryanda in the 6th century BC; others prefer the text,
Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax. In both texts, it is named Melite and supported by
Apollonius of Rhodes. Agathemerus and Pliny the Elder call the island Melita. Agesilaus
of Anaxarba in Cilicia, the father of Oppian, was banished to Mljet by the
Roman Emperor Septimius Severus (AD 145–211).
Mljet is mentioned around 950 by the
Byzantine Emperor