MELEAGER AND ATALANTA
One of the heroes of the Argonautic expedition was Meleager, son
of OEneus and Althea, king and queen of Calydon. Althea, when her
son was born, beheld the three destinies, who, as they spun their
fatal thread, foretold that the life of the child should last no
longer than a brand then burning upon the hearth. Althea seized
and quenched the brand, and carefully preserved it for years,
while Meleager grew to boyhood, youth, and manhood. It chanced,
then, that OEneus, as he offered sacrifices to the gods, omitted
to pay due honors to Diana; and she, indignant at the neglect,
sent a wild boar of enormous size to lay waste the fields of
Calydon. Its eyes shone with blood and fire, its bristles stood
like threatening spears, its tusks were like those of Indian
elephants. The growing corn was trampled, the vines and olive
trees laid waste, the flocks and herds were driven in wild
confusion by the slaughtering foe. All common aid seemed vain; but
Meleager called on the heroes of Greece to join in a bold hunt for
the ravenous monster. Theseus and his friend Pirithous, Jason,
Peleus, afterwards the father of Achilles, Telamon the father of
Ajax, Nestor, then a youth, but who in his age bore arms with
Achilles and Ajax in the Trojan war,--these and many more joined
in the enterprise. With them came Atalanta, the daughter of
Iasius, king of Arcadia. A buckle of polished gold confined her
vest, an ivory quiver hung on her left shoulder, and her left hand
bore the bow. Her face blent feminine beauty with the best graces
of martial youth. Meleager saw and loved.
But now already they were near the monster's lair. They stretched
strong nets from tree to tree; they uncoupled their dogs, they
tried to find the footprints of their quarry in the grass. From
the wood was a descent to marshy ground. Here the boar, as he lay
among the reeds, heard the shouts of his pursuers, and rushed
forth against them. One and another is thrown down and slain.
Jason throws his spear, with a prayer to Diana for success; and
the favoring goddess allows the weapon to touch, but not to wound,
removing the steel point of the spear in its flight. Nestor,
assailed, seeks and finds safety in the branches of a tree.
Telamon rushes on, but stumbling at a projecting root, falls
prone. But an arrow from Atalanta at length for the first time
tastes the monster's blood. It is a slight wound, but Meleager
sees and joyfully proclaims it. Anceus, excited to envy by the
praise given to a female, loudly proclaims his own valor, and
defies alike the boar and the goddess who had sent it; but as he
rushes on, the infuriated beast lays him low with a mortal wound.
Theseus throws his lance, but it is turned aside by a projecting
bough. The dart of Jason misses its object, and kills instead one
of their own dogs. But Meleager, after one unsuccessful stroke,
drives his spear into the monster's side, then rushes on and
despatches him with repeated blows.
Then rose a shout from those around; they congratulated the
conqueror, crowding to touch his hand. He, placing his foot upon
the head of the slain boar, turned to Atalanta and bestowed on her
the head and the rough hide which were the trophies of his
success. But at this, envy excited the rest to strife. Plexippus
and Toxeus, the brothers of Meleager's mother, beyond the rest
opposed the gift, and snatched from the maiden the trophy she had
received. Meleager, kindling with rage at the wrong done to
himself, and still more at the insult offered to her whom he
loved, forgot the claims of kindred, and plunged his sword into
the offenders' hearts.
As Althea bore gifts of thankfulness to the temples for the
victory of her son, the bodies of her murdered brothers met her
sight. She shrieks, and beats her breast, and hastens to change
the garments of rejoicing for those of mourning. But when the
author of the deed is known, grief gives way to the stern desire
of vengeance on her son. The fatal brand, which once she rescued
from the flames, the brand which the destinies had linked with
Meleager's life, she brings forth, and commands a fire to be
prepared. Then four times she essays to place the brand upon the
pile; four times draws back, shuddering at the thought of bringing
destruction on her son. The feelings of the mother and the sister
contend within her. Now she is pale at the thought of the proposed
deed, now flushed again with anger at the act of her son. As a
vessel, driven in one direction by the wind, and in the opposite
by the tide, the mind of Althea hangs suspended in uncertainty.
But now the sister prevails above the mother, and she begins as
she holds the fatal wood: "Turn, ye Furies, goddesses of
punishment! turn to behold the sacrifice I bring! Crime must atone
for crime. Shall OEneus rejoice in his victor son, while the house
of Thestius is desolate? But, alas! to what deed am I borne along?
Brothers forgive a mother's weakness! my hand fails me. He
deserves death, but not that I should destroy him. But shall he
then live, and triumph, and reign over Calydon, while you, my
brothers, wander unavenged among the shades? No! thou hast lived
by my gift; die, now, for thine own crime. Return the life which
twice I gave thee, first at thy birth, again when I snatched this
brand from the flames. O that thou hadst then died! Alas! evil is
the conquest; but, brothers, ye have conquered." And, turning away
her face, she threw the fatal wood upon the burning pile.
It gave, or seemed to give, a deadly groan. Meleager, absent and
unknowing of the cause, felt a sudden pang. He burns, and only by
courageous pride conquers the pain which destroys him. He mourns
only that he perishes by a bloodless and unhonored death. With his
last breath he calls upon his aged father, his brother, and his
fond sisters, upon his beloved Atalanta, and upon his mother, the
unknown cause of his fate. The flames increase, and with them the
pain of the hero. Now both subside; now both are quenched. The
brand is ashes, and the life of Meleager is breathed forth to the
wandering winds.
Althea, when the deed was done, laid violent hands upon herself.
The sisters of Meleager mourned their brother with uncontrollable
grief; till Diana, pitying the sorrows of the house that once had
aroused her anger, turned them into birds.
ATALANTA
The innocent cause of so much sorrow was a maiden whose face you
might truly say was boyish for a girl, yet too girlish for a boy.
Her fortune had been told, and it was to this effect: "Atalanta,
do not marry; marriage will be your ruin." Terrified by this
oracle, she fled the society of men, and devoted herself to the
sports of the chase. To all suitors (for she had many) she imposed
a condition which was generally effectual in relieving her of
their persecutions,--"I will be the prize of him who shall conquer
me in the race; but death must be the penalty of all who try and
fail." In spite of this hard condition some would try. Hippomenes
was to be judge of the race. "Can it be possible that any will be
so rash as to risk so much for a wife?" said he. But when he saw
her lay aside her robe for the race, he changed his mind, and
said, "Pardon me, youths, I knew not the prize you were competing
for." As he surveyed them he wished them all to be beaten, and
swelled with envy of any one that seemed at all likely to win.
While such were his thoughts, the virgin darted forward. As she
ran she looked more beautiful than ever. The breezes seemed to
give wings to her feet; her hair flew over her shoulders, and the
gay fringe of her garment fluttered behind her. A ruddy hue tinged
the whiteness of her skin, such as a crimson curtain casts on a
marble wall. All her competitors were distanced, and were put to
death without mercy. Hippomenes, not daunted by this result,
fixing his eyes on the virgin, said, "Why boast of beating those
laggards? I offer myself for the contest." Atalanta looked at him
with a pitying countenance, and hardly knew whether she would
rather conquer him or not. "What god can tempt one so young and
handsome to throw himself away? I pity him, not for his beauty
(yet he is beautiful), but for his youth. I wish he would give up
the race, or if he will be so mad, I hope he may outrun me." While
she hesitates, revolving these thoughts, the spectators grow
impatient for the race, and her father prompts her to prepare.
Then Hippomenes addressed a prayer to Venus: "Help me, Venus, for
you have led me on." Venus heard and was propitious.
In the garden of her temple, in her own island of Cyprus, is a
tree with yellow leaves and yellow branches and golden fruit.
Hence she gathered three golden apples, and, unseen by any one
else, gave them to Hippomenes, and told him how to use them. The
signal is given; each starts from the goal and skims over the
sand. So light their tread, you would almost have thought they
might run over the river surface or over the waving grain without
sinking. The cries of the spectators cheered Hippomenes,--"Now,
now, do your best! haste, haste! you gain on her! relax not! one
more effort!" It was doubtful whether the youth or the maiden
heard these cries with the greater pleasure. But his breath began
to fail him, his throat was dry, the goal yet far off. At that
moment he threw down one of the golden apples. The virgin was all
amazement. She stopped to pick it up. Hippomenes shot ahead.
Shouts burst forth from all sides. She redoubled her efforts, and
soon overtook him. Again he threw an apple. She stopped again, but
again came up with him. The goal was near; one chance only
remained. "Now, goddess," said he, "prosper your gift!" and threw
the last apple off at one side. She looked at it, and hesitated;
Venus impelled her to turn aside for it. She did so, and was
vanquished. The youth carried off his prize.
But the lovers were so full of their own happiness that they
forgot to pay due honor to Venus; and the goddess was provoked at
their ingratitude. She caused them to give offence to Cybele. That
powerful goddess was not to be insulted with impunity. She took
from them their human form and turned them into animals of
characters resembling their own: of the huntress-heroine,
triumphing in the blood of her lovers, she made a lioness, and of
her lord and master a lion, and yoked them to her car, where they
are still to be seen in all representations, in statuary or
painting, of the goddess Cybele.
Cybele is the Latin name of the goddess called by the Greeks Rhea
and Ops. She was the wife of Cronos and mother of Zeus. In works
of art she exhibits the matronly air which distinguishes Juno and
Ceres. Sometimes she is veiled, and seated on a throne with lions
at her side, at other times riding in a chariot drawn by lions.
She wears a mural crown, that is, a crown whose rim is carved in
the form of towers and battlements. Her priests were called
Corybantes.
Byron, in describing the city of Venice, which is built on a low
island in the Adriatic Sea, borrows an illustration from Cybele:
"She looks a sea-Cybele fresh from ocean,
Rising with her tiara of proud towers
At airy distance, with majestic motion,
A ruler of the waters and their powers."
--Childe Harold, IV.
In Moore's "Rhymes on the Road," the poet, speaking of Alpine
scenery, alludes to the story of Atalanta and Hippomenes thus:
"Even here, in this region of wonders, I find
That light-footed Fancy leaves Truth far behind,
Or at least, like Hippomenes, turns her astray
By the golden illusions he flings in her way."