Meleager

Meleager is born to Althaea and King Oeneus of Calydon (some traditions record alternate paternity by Ares). At his birth the Moirai prophesy that his life will end when a particular piece of wood, then burning in the family hearth, is consumed. Overhearing the prophecy, Althaea douses and hides the charred log to preserve his life. Later narrative context for Meleager's early fame is the Calydonian boar hunt, a communal expedition organized by Oeneus and led by Meleager after Oeneus summons heroes from across Greece to punish a boar sent against Calydon (a punishment motif elsewhere attributed to Oeneus' failure to honor Artemis). During the hunt Meleager awards the boar's hide to the huntress Atalanta because she drew the first blood; this provokes outrage from other hunters (including maternal relatives) and Meleager kills several of them in defense of his decision. The familial violence culminates when Althaea, enraged at Meleager's slaying of her brothers, burns the concealed wood, causing Meleager's death. In mythic aftermath his sisters' excessive mourning is punished by their metamorphosis into guineafowl (meleagrides).

Ancient summaries and artistic representations depict Meleager as a conventional epic warrior-prince: martial regalia, armor, and association with the boar-hunt tableau. Literary testimony preserved in later poets (e.g., Bacchylides as cited in summaries) portrays his shade in the underworld as still wearing 'shining armor.' Visual art and engravings commonly show him presenting the boar's head to Atalanta, emphasizing his role as leader and victor rather than providing unique physical identifiers beyond heroic dress.

Meleager's capacities in the tradition are those of a preeminent mortal hero: he gathers and leads other heroes as host of the Calydonian boar hunt, demonstrates prowess by killing the Calydonian boar (after Atalanta wounds it) and by slaying opponents who contest his judgment, and is counted among the roster of pan-Hellenic heroes in some epic lists (including variants that place him among the Argonauts). He is not described as possessing intrinsic supernatural powers; his life course is governed by a prophetic fate-token (the hearth-log) whose destruction results in his death. After death he appears in underworld narratives retaining his martial identity and is noted as the only shade who does not flee Heracles in one account.