Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Meleager and the Boar

Onius, the king of Calydon, piously sacrificed the fresh fruits of the harvest season to the gods: the grain was dedicated to Meter, the grapes were dedicated to Bacchus, and the oil was dedicated to Athena. Each god had a corresponding sacrifice.But he forgot to sacrifice to Artemis, the goddess of hunting.There are no offerings and no fireworks in front of her altar.The goddess was very angry, and she decided to take revenge on those who had indifferent to her.The goddess unleashes a gigantic wild boar into the fields of Calydon.Its blood-red eyes shot out raging flames, its broad back was bristling with bristly mane, and its tusks were as thick and sharp as ivory.The wild boar trampled on the crops and devoured the grapes and olives leaf by leaf.The shepherds and sheepdogs ran away when they saw it, unable to protect their flock at all.

The wild boar became a terrible monster. The king's son Meleager stepped forward and summoned a group of hunters and hounds to hunt down the vicious boar.He invited the bravest men in all Greece to hunt.Among them was Atalanta, the Arcadian heroine, daughter of Iaris, abandoned as a child in the woods to be suckled by a she-bear.Later, she was found and brought back by hunters, who brought her up.From then on, she took the woods as her home and lived by hunting. She was born into a beautiful woman, but she hated men very much.She rejects all men who approach her.Two half-man, half-horse monsters tried to pursue her in the wilderness, but she also shot them to death with bows and arrows.Because she likes to hunt, so now she has no choice but to avoid the suspicion of men and women.She tied her hair into a bun, hung an ivory quiver on her shoulder, held a bow in her right hand, and had a ruddy complexion. She looked like a beautiful woman in the eyes of men, and a handsome man in the eyes of girls.When Meleager saw her excellence, he thought to himself, "How happy is the man who should marry her!" But he had no time to think about it, because the dangerous hunt was imminent, and there was no longer any delay .

The hunters came to an ancient forest winding up the hillside. Some set up traps, some let go of the hounds, and some looked for traces of wild boars.Now they came to a steep valley, thick with reeds and asicum, where the boar hid.Startled by the barking of the hounds, it rushed out and broke countless trees.The hunters shouted in unison, clutching their spears tightly, but the wild boar, seeing the crowd ahead, avoided them, and rushed diagonally. Rub its hard skin, make it angry, let it go wild.It turned its head back with its flaming eyes, and rushed at the hunter, knocking down three hunters immediately, and they were trampled to death on the spot.Arriving in time, Atalanta bent her bow and shot an arrow at the boar, hitting it in the ear.For the first time the bristles were stained with blood.When Meleager saw the boar was wounded, he immediately told the hunters the news.The men were so ashamed to see a woman do the work before them that they sprang up and threw their spears and darts at the boar.But none of the raindrops of hair hit the wild boar.Now an Arcadian man held a sharp ax in both hands, and rushed forward angrily, but before he could cut down on the wild boar, he was thrown to the ground by the wild boar's fangs and died.At this time, Jason also threw a spear, which missed the wild boar, but hit a hound.Meleager threw two spears in a row, the first fell to the ground, and the second hit the pig's back.The wild boar was very animalistic, spinning violently in place, spitting blood and white foam from its mouth.Meleager rushed up, raised his spear, and thrust it into the boar's neck.The hunters raised their spears one after another, and the wild boar was poked like a honeycomb. It struggled and fell into a pool of blood.Meleager put his foot on its head, and with his sword he skinned the pig with the hair and flesh.He gave the pig's skin and head to the brave Atalanta, and said to her: "Take the spoils! It stands to reason that it belongs to me, but a greater honor belongs to you!"

The hunters were indignant, thinking that she should not enjoy this honor.The uncles of Meleager were even more dissatisfied. They stood in front of Atalanta, waved their fists, and said, "Put down the spoils in your hands. You don't want to get this prey. It belongs to us!" Then they grabbed the prey and walked away.Meleager couldn't bear such insults, and roared: "You robbers!" He straightened his spear and stabbed at one of his uncles. Agerus' spear pierced his chest too. Althea, the mother of Meleager, was very happy when she heard that her son had won the hunt.She immediately went to the temple to offer sacrifices to the gods to express her gratitude.On the way, she saw that what was being carried was the bodies of two brothers.Althea hurried back to the palace and put on mourning clothes.

When she heard that the murderer was her son Meleager, she held back her tears and turned her sorrow into hatred, thinking about avenging her brothers. She remembered that Meleager was born a few days later , the Fates had come to her bed. "Your son will be a brave hero," prophesied the first goddess. "Your son's lifespan is like..." Before the second goddess finished, the third goddess took over: "Like firewood on the stove, until it is burned out." The three goddesses of fate had just left, and Altai Ya quickly took the firewood out of the fire, poured it out with water, and hid it in the secret room.Now, in her vengeful anger, she thought of the firewood again, and immediately went into the secret room, and she ordered the servants to set up the firewood and light the stove, and the flames were blazing.In Althea's heart, the love of mother and child and brotherhood are in fierce conflict.Four times she stretched out her hand to throw the logs into the fire, and four times she drew her hand back.Finally, brotherhood overcame maternal love.She called out: "O Nemesis, please look at the sacrifices offered to you in the fire! And you, my brothers, your dead souls, look at what I am doing for you A mother's heart has been broken. Soon, I will go with you too." Then, she closed her eyes and threw the firewood into the raging fire with a trembling hand.

Meleager was now on his way back to the city.Suddenly he felt a burning pain in his heart.When he first arrived at the palace, he was in unbearable pain and fell on the bed.He struggled hard, envious of those victorious hunters.They were all elated, celebrating the victory of the hunt.Meleager called in agony to his brother, his sister, his aged father and mother, while his mother stood stunned by the fire, watching with dull eyes the blazing fire that burned the chips. The pain of the son was intense as the wood chips burned.Finally, when the firewood was burned to ashes, his pain was gone and his life was over.Father, sister, and all Calydon mourned the loss of this hero.Only the mother was not there, she was dead by the fire.