The king of Calydon, Oeneus, father of the hero Meleager, incurred the wrath of the great goddess Artemis. Once, celebrating the harvest of fruits in his gardens and vineyards, he made rich sacrifices to the Olympian gods, and only Artemis did not offer sacrifices. Artemis punished Oineas for this. She sent a formidable boar to the country. A ferocious, huge boar devastated the entire environs of Calydon. With his monstrous fangs, he uprooted entire trees, destroyed vineyards and apple trees covered with delicate flowers. The boar did not spare people if they came his way. Grief reigned in the vicinity of Calydon. Then the son of Oeneus Meleager, seeing the general sadness, decided to organize a raid and kill the boar. He gathered many heroes of Greece for this dangerous hunt. Those who came from Sparta, Castor and Polydeuces, Theseus from Athens, King Admetus from Thera, Jason from Iolcus, Iolaus from Thebes, Peirithoi from Thessaly, Peleus from Phthia, Telamon from the island of Salamis and many other heroes took part in the hunt. Atlas came to hunt from Arcadia, fast in running, like the fastest-footed deer. She was raised in the mountains. Her father ordered her to be taken to the mountains immediately after birth, since he did not want to have daughters. There, in the gorge, Atlanta was nursed by a bear, and she grew up among hunters. As a huntress, Atlas was equal to Artemis herself.
For nine days the gathered heroes feasted at the hospitable Oineus. Finally, they went boar hunting. The surrounding mountains resounded with the loud barking of numerous packs of dogs. The dogs picked up a huge boar and chased it. Then a wild boar appeared, rushing like a whirlwind, chased by dogs. The hunters rushed towards him. Each of them was in a hurry to hit the boar with his spear, but the fight with the monstrous boar was difficult; not one of the hunters experienced the power of its terrible fangs. The boar struck to death with its fangs the intrepid hunter, the Arcadian Ankey, when he swung his double-edged ax and wanted to kill the boar. Then Atlanta pulled her tight bow and shot a sharp arrow at the boar. At that moment Meleager also arrived. With a mighty blow from his spear he killed a huge boar. The hunt is over. Everyone rejoiced at their good fortune.
But who should the award be awarded to? Many heroes took part in the hunt. Many of them struck the boar with their sharp spears. A dispute arose over the reward, and the goddess Artemis, angry at Meleager for killing her boar, fanned the feud even more.
This discord finally led to war between the Aetolians, inhabitants of Calydon, and the Curetes, inhabitants of the neighboring city of Pleuron. While the mighty hero Meleager fought in the ranks of the Aetolians, victory was on their side.
Once, in the heat of battle, Meleager killed the brother of his mother Althea. Althea was saddened when she learned of the death of her beloved brother. She became furious when she learned that her brother had fallen at the hands of her son Meleager. In anger at her son, Althea begged the gloomy king Hades and his wife Persephone to punish Meleager. In a frenzy, she called on the avengers of the Erinyes to hear her pleas. Meleager was angry when he learned that his mother was calling for the death of him, her son, and withdrew from the battle. He sat sadly, bowing his head in his hands, in the peace of his wife, the beautiful Cleopatra. As soon as Meleager stopped fighting in the ranks of the Aetolians, victory ceased to accompany them. The Kuretes began to win. They laid siege to the already rich Calydon. Calydon was threatened with death. In vain did the elders of Calydon pray to Meleager to return to the ranks of the army. They offered the hero a great reward, but the hero did not heed their pleas. The elderly father of Meleager himself, Oeneus, came to the peace of Meleager’s wife, Cleopatra; he knocked on the closed door and begged Meleager to forget his anger - after all, his native city of Calydon was perishing. And Meleager did not listen to him. Meleager was begged to help by his sister, mother, and beloved friends, but Meleager was adamant. Meanwhile, the Curetes had already taken possession of the walls of Calydon. They were already setting fire to city houses, wanting to burn everything. Finally, the walls of the chambers where Meleager was also shook from the blows. Then his young wife, in horror, threw herself on her knees in front of him and began to beg her husband to save the city from destruction. She begged him to think about the evil fate that would befall both the city and the vanquished, to think that the victors would take their wives and children into heavy slavery. Does he really want such a fate to befall her? The mighty Meleager heeded the pleas of his wife. He quickly put on shiny armor, girded himself with a sword, and took his huge shield and spear in his hands. Meleager rushed into battle, repelled the Kuretes and saved his native Calydon. But death awaited Meleager himself. The gods of the kingdom of shadows of the dead heard the prayers and curses of Althea. Meleager fell in battle, struck to death by the golden arrow of the far-striking god Apollo, and Meleager’s soul flew off into the sad kingdom of shadows.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru