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This article is about the mythological figure Meleager. For the Macedonian general, see Meleager (general).
In Greek mythology, Meleager was the son of Althaea and Oeneus and, according to some accounts father of Parthenopeus and Polydora.
When Meleager was born, the Moirae predicted he would only live until a brand, burning in the family hearth, was consumed by fire. Althaea immediately hid the brand.
Meleager married Cleopatra, daughter of Idas.
Oeneus sent Meleager to gather up heroes to hunt the Calydonian Boar that had been stalking the area. Among many others, he chose Atalanta, a fierce huntress, whom he loved. According to one account of the hunt, Hylaeus and Rhaecus, two centaurs, tried to rape Atalanta. Meleager killed them. Then, Atalanta wounded the boar and Meleager killed it. He awarded her the hide since she had drawn the first drop of blood. Toxeus and Plexippus (Althaea's brothers) grew enraged that the prize was given to a woman. Meleager killed them in the ensuing argument. He also killed IphiclesIn Greek mythology, Iphicles referred to three different people: #The half-brother of Heracles, being the son of Alcmene and her human husband whereas Heracles was her son by Zeus. Iphicles was the father of Heracles' charioteer Iolaus. Son of Thestius, o and EurypylusIn Greek mythology, Eurypylus referred to three different people. Son of Thestius. He participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar, during which he insulted Atalanta and was killed by Meleager. A Thessalonian king, fought on the Greek side during the for insulting Atalanta.
Since Meleager had killed her two brothers, Althaea placed the brand back upon the fire, killing him.
Later, Meleager was one of the ArgonautsIn Greek mythology, the Argonauts were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest for the Golden Fleece. They sailed the ship the Argo hence their name, which literally means "Sailors of the Argo".. This may, or may not, have been the same Meleager.
With Atalanta, Meleager may have been the father of Parthenopeus, although in other versions HippomenesIn Greek mythology, Hippomenes also known as Melanion was the husband of Atalanta. Atalanta raced all her suitors and outran all but Hippomenes, who defeated her by cunning, not speed. Hippomenes knew that he could not win a fair race with Atalanta, so he was his father.
ApollodorusApollodorus was a popular name in the ancient world. Apollodorus an Athenian painter, flourished at the end of the 5th century B. He is said to have introduced great improvements in perspective and chiaroscuro. Apollodorus of Athens, an Athenian grammaria. BibliothekeThe Bibliotheke was renowned as the chief work of Apollodorus of Athens, a 2nd-century B. Greek historian and scholar. The title means Library and is the single most valuable source on Greek mythology. However, the text itself dates back to the century be I, viii, 1-3; OvidFor other uses, see Ovid (disambiguation Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC AD 17) Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid wrote on topics of love, abandoned women, and mythological transformations. Ovid wrote in elegiac couplets, with. Metamorphoses VIII, 269-525; Homer. Iliad IX, 529-99. Argonauts