THE ARGUMENT
Althæa, daughter of Thestius and Eurythemis,
queen of Calydon, being with child of Meleager her
first-born son, dreamed that she brought forth a brand
burning; and upon his birth came the three Fates and
prophesied of him three things, namely these; that
he should have great strength of his hands, and good
fortune in this life, and that he should live no longer
when the brand then in the fire were consumed:
wherefore his mother plucked it forth and kept it by
her. And the child being a man grown sailed with
Jason after the fleece of gold, and won himself great
praise of all men living; and when the tribes of the
north and west made war upon Ætolia, he fought
against their army and scattered it. But Artemis,
having at the first stirred up these tribes to war
against Œneus king of Calydon, because he had
offered sacrifice to all the gods saving her alone, but
her he had forgotten to honour, was yet more wroth
because of the destruction of this army, and sent
upon the land of Calydon a wild boar which slew
many and wasted all their increase, but him could
none slay, and many went against him and perished.
Then were all the chief men of Greece gathered
together, and among them Atalanta daughter of
Iasius the Arcadian, a virgin; for whose sake
Artemis let slay the boar, seeing she favoured the
maiden greatly; and Meleager having despatched it
gave the spoil thereof to Atalanta, as one beyond
measure enamoured of her; but the brethren of
Althæa his mother, Toxeus and Plexippus, with such
others as misliked that she only should bear off the
praise whereas many had borne the labour, laid wait
for her to take away her spoil; but Meleager fought
against them and slew them: whom when Althæa
their sister beheld and knew to be slain of her son,
she waxed for wrath and sorrow like as one mad,
and taking the brand whereby the measure of her
son's life was meted to him, she cast it upon a fire;
and with the wasting thereof his life likewise wasted
away, that being brought back to his father's house
he died in a brief space; and his mother also endured
not long after for very sorrow; and this was his end,
and the end of that hunting.