The Calydonian Boar is one of a genre of
chthonic monsters in
Greek mythology, each set in a specific locale, which must be overcome by heroes of the
Olympian age. Sent by
Artemis to ravage the region of
Calydon in
Aetolia, it met its end in the Calydonian Hunt, in which all the heroes of the new age pressed to take part, with the exception of
Heracles, who vanquished his Goddess-sent boar separately: see
Erymanthian Boar. Since the mythic event drew together many heroes (Bibliotheke1.8.2)—among whom were many who were venerated as progenitors of their local ruling houses among tribal groups of
Hellenes into Classical times—the Calydonian Boarhunt offered a natural subject in classical art, for it was redolent with the web of myth that gathered around its protagonists on other occasions, around their half-divine descent and their offspring. Like the quest for the
Golden Fleece (
Argonautica) or the
War of Troy that took place the following generation, the Calydonian Hunt is one of the nodes in which much Greek myth comes together. Nevertheless, though both
Homer and
Hesiod and their listeners were aware of the details of this myth, no surviving poet seems to have worked the pieces into a single
epic, to become the classic telling: some
papyrus fragments found at
Oxyrhyncus are all that survive of
Stesichorus' telling; the myth repertory called
Bibliotheke ("The Library") contains the gist of the tale, and before that the Roman poet Ovid telling the story in some colorful detail in his own
Metamorphoses.
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[Greek heroic] The hunting of the Calydonian boar was one of the most famous episodes of Greek heroic legend. Oeneus, the king of Calydon, failed to honor Artemis when he was sacrificing the first-fruits of the harvest, and in revenge Artemis sent a savage boar which laid waste to the countryside. Oeneus called together a great host of Greek heroes to rid his country of the boar. It was a distinguished company: the hunting party included a sizeable portion of the crew of the Argo, and many of the hunters also had separate legendary exploits of their own. Although accounts of the hunt vary, some of the more famous names mentioned include Jason, Theseus, Telamon, Peleus, the Dioscuri, Laertes, Nestor, Meleager and Atalanta. The hunt itself was a bloody affair, with several men being killed before anyone could even wound the boar. Finally, Atalanta injured the beast with an arrow, and then Meleager killed it with his spear. Afterwards, Meleager tried to award the boar's pelt to Atalanta, since he was...
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