# Meleager and Atalanta explained — Bulfinch’s Mythology

> Chapter companion for Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch.

## What happens

The chapter recounts the myth of Meleager, whose life is tied to a brand saved by his mother Althea. After Meleager slays the Calydonian boar and gives the trophy to Atalanta, his uncles' envy leads him to kill them. Althea, torn between maternal love and vengeance, burns the brand, causing Meleager's death, then takes her own life. The second part tells of Atalanta, who imposes a deadly race on suitors. Hippomenes, aided by Venus's golden apples, wins the race and her hand, but their ingratitude to Venus results in their transformation into lions yoked to Cybele's chariot.

## Themes in this chapter

### Fate and Free Will

Meleager's life is bound to a brand by the Fates, yet his mother's choice to burn it fulfills the prophecy; Atalanta's oracle warns against marriage, but she is ultimately overcome by love.

### Jealousy and Revenge

Envy of Meleager's gift to Atalanta leads to the murder of his uncles, prompting Althea's vengeful act; the suitors' deaths and the lovers' transformation also stem from jealousy and divine retribution.

### Love and Transformation

Meleager's love for Atalanta drives the conflict; Hippomenes wins Atalanta through love, but their ingratitude leads to their transformation into lions, and Meleager's sisters are turned into birds.

## Character check-ins

### Meleager

Son of Oeneus and Althea, hero of the Calydonian boar hunt, whose life is tied to a brand; he slays his uncles and dies when his mother burns the brand.

### Atalanta

Arcadian huntress and cause of the conflict; she receives the boar's hide from Meleager and later races Hippomenes, ultimately transformed into a lioness.

### Althea

Mother of Meleager, who preserves the brand that controls his life; she burns it in vengeance for her brothers' deaths, then commits suicide.

### Hippomenes

Suitor who wins Atalanta's hand by using golden apples from Venus; he and Atalanta are later turned into lions for ingratitude.

### Venus

Goddess who aids Hippomenes with golden apples but punishes the couple for neglecting to honor her.

### Cybele

Goddess who transforms the lovers into lions and yokes them to her chariot after Venus provokes her.

### Diana

Goddess who sends the Calydonian boar due to neglect and later pities Meleager's sisters, turning them into birds.

## Key lines

> 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.

Althea's mind wavers like a boat caught between wind and current, torn between her roles as mother and sister.

_Illustrates Althea's internal conflict before burning the brand._

> The brand is ashes, and the life of Meleager is breathed forth to the wandering winds.

Once the brand turns to ash, Meleager's life dissipates like a breath carried away by the wind.

_Poetic description of Meleager's death linked to the burning brand._

> A ruddy hue tinged the whiteness of her skin, such as a crimson curtain casts on a marble wall.

A blush colored her pale skin like a red curtain reflecting on white marble.

_Describes Atalanta's beauty during the race._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters/xviii-meleager-and-atalanta
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters