Oeneus- Greek FigureMortal"King of Calydon"
Also known as: Oineus and Οἰνεύς
Description
King of Calydon who received the first grapevine from Dionysus but forgot to honor Artemis at the harvest. The goddess sent a monstrous boar to devastate his kingdom. The hunt to kill it cost Oeneus his son Meleager, his wife Althaea, and ultimately his throne.
Mythology & Lore
The First Winemaker
Oeneus ruled Calydon in Aetolia. When Dionysus came to the city, Oeneus received him as a guest. Apollodorus says the king stepped aside while the god took his wife Althaea to bed. In return, Dionysus taught him to cultivate the grape and gave him the first vine. His name itself comes from oinos, wine.
The Calydonian Boar
When Oeneus made his harvest sacrifices, he honored every god but Artemis. The omission was enough. She sent a boar into Calydon so vast it uprooted orchards and scattered livestock across the fields. Meleager, Oeneus's son, gathered a company of heroes to hunt it. The boar died, but the quarrel over its hide ended with Meleager killing his mother's brothers. Althaea burned the firebrand that the Fates had tied to her son's life on the day he was born. Meleager fell dead. Althaea killed herself.
The Old King
The deaths left Oeneus broken. His daughter Deianira married Heracles and departed. In his old age, his nephew Agrius seized the throne and imprisoned him. Agrius's sons beat the old king until Oeneus's grandson Diomedes returned and killed or drove them out. Diodorus says Oeneus was too aged to rule again; Diomedes gave the throne to Andraemon. The old king died in the Peloponnese, and Diomedes buried him near Argos.