Meleager- Greek HeroHero"Slayer of the Calydonian Boar"

Birth and the Firebrand

When Meleager was born to Oeneus, king of Calydon, and his wife Althaea, the three Moirai appeared at his cradle. Clotho and Lachesis granted him noble qualities and great courage, but Atropos declared that his life would last only as long as a log then burning on the hearth. Althaea snatched the brand from the fire, extinguished it, and locked it away in a chest.

The Calydonian Boar Hunt

Oeneus neglected to include Artemis in his harvest sacrifices, and the goddess sent a monstrous boar to ravage Calydon — trampling crops and goring anyone who tried to stop it. Meleager gathered heroes from across Greece for the hunt, the huntress Atalanta among them. The boar killed several hunters before Atalanta drew first blood with her arrow. Meleager drove his spear home and finished the animal.

He awarded the hide and tusks to Atalanta — partly to honor her as first to wound the beast, partly because he had fallen in love with her. His maternal uncles, the sons of Thestius, were outraged that a woman should take the prize when men stood present. They seized the hide from her. Meleager killed them both.

The Firebrand

When word reached Althaea that Meleager had killed her brothers, grief for them won. She retrieved the enchanted brand from its hiding place and threw it into the fire. As the log burned, Meleager felt a searing heat consume him from within, and he died as the last ember turned to ash. Althaea, overcome by what she had done, took her own life.

Meleager's Shade

Heracles encountered Meleager's ghost during his descent to the Underworld. The shade told the story of his death, and his tale moved Heracles to tears. Meleager asked Heracles to marry his sister Deianira, and Heracles agreed — though the marriage would bring him his own ruin.