Meleager
Meleager was the son of Oeneus and Althaea, king and queen of Calydon.
When he was born, the three Moirae (Fates) announced to his mother
that Meleager would live only so long as a log burning upon the
hearth remained unconsumed. Althaea snatched the log from the fire
and kept it in a safe place. Meleager grew up into a valiant warrior
who was seemingly invulnerable to harm, and married Cleopatra, the
daughter of the hero Idas.
When the Calydonian boar was ravaging the countryside, his father
sent him to lead the band of heroes who went forth to hunt the beast.
Despite his marriage to Cleopatra, Meleager was in love with Atalanta,
the only woman among the hunting party, and he rejoiced when she
was the first to wound the boar; he then completed the kill himself,
and awarded the boar's hide to her, on the grounds that she had
drawn first blood. However, Meleager's maternal uncles, Toxeus and
Plexippus, were enraged that the prize of the hunt should be awarded
to a woman, and tried to take it for themselves. Meleager fought
with them and killed them.
Upon hearing the news of her brothers' deaths, Althaea removed
the half-consumed log from its hiding place and cast it upon the
fire. Meleager writhed in agony,he finally died when the log was
burned entirely.
Mythology
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