BULFINCH’S MYTHOLOGY

THE AGE OF FABLE

OR STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES

by Thomas Bulfinch

[1855]

CHAPTER XVIII

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 honours 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 grounds. 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 favouring 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 valour, 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 unhonoured 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 be 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 honour 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.”