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See also: Greek See also: legend, the son of Oeneus, See also: king of
See also: Calydon, and See also: Althaea
.
His See also: father having neglected to sacrifice to See also: Artemis, she sent a See also: wild boar to ravage the See also: land, which was eventually slain by See also: Meleager
.
A war broke out between the Calydonians and See also: Curetes (led by Althaea's See also: brothers) about the disposal of the See also: head and skin, which Meleager awarded as a prize to See also: Atalanta, who had inflicted the first wound; the brothers of Althaea See also: lay in wait for Atalanta and robbed her of the spoils, but were slain by Meleager
.
When Althaea heard this, she cursed Meleager, who withdrew, and refused to fight until the Curetes were on the point of capturing the city of Calydon
.
Then, yielding to his wife's entreaties, he sallied forth and defeated the enemy, but was never seen again, having been carried off by the See also: Erinyes, who had heard his See also: mother's curse (or he was slain by See also: Apollo in See also: battle)
.
According to a later tradition, not known to See also: Homer, the Moerae appeared to Althaea when Meleager was seven days old, and announced^ that the See also: child would only live as long as the log blazing on the hearth remained unconsumed
.
Althaea thereupon seized the log, extinguished the flames, and hid it in a box
.
But, after her brothers' See also: death, she relighted the log, and let it See also: burn away until Meleager died.3 Then, horrified at what she had done, she hanged herself, or died of grief
.
The sisters of Meleager were
2 The See also: god 'EXtoOv was also Phoenician; see See also: Driver, See also: Genesis, p
.
165; See also: Lagrange, Religions Simitiques, See also: Index, s.v
.
3 On the See also: torch as representing the See also: light of See also: life, see E
.
Kuhnert in Rheinisches Museum, x1ix., 1894, and J
.
See also: Grimm, Teutonic See also: Mythology (Eng. trans. by J
.
Stallybrass, ,88o), ii
.
853
.
changed by Artemis out of compassion into See also: guinea fowls and removed to the See also: island of Leros, where they mourned See also: part of the See also: year for their See also: brother
.
The life and adventures of Meleager were a favourite subject in See also: ancient literature and See also: art
.
Meleager is represented as a tall, vigorous youth with See also: curly hair, holding a See also: javelin or a boar's head, and accompanied by a See also: dog,
See R
.
See also: Kekule, De fabula meleagrea dissertatio (1861); Surber, Die Meleagersage (Zurich, 188o) ; articles on Meleager " and
Meleagrides " in Roscher's Lexikon der Mythologie; L
.
Preller, Griechische Mythologie; See also: Apollodorus i
.
8; Homer, Iliad, ix
.
527; Died
.
Sic. iv
.
34; Dio See also: Chrysostom, Or
.
67; See also: Hyginus, Fab
.
171; Ovid, Metam
.
Viii
.
260-545
.
In the article GREEK ART (fig
.
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