Hero Tales | Page 5

then shall you be driven forth homeless
and accursed, and others shall take your places in the service of my
house."
Then the bright youth left them and hastened away to Mount Olympus.
But every year he came again, and looked into his house, and spoke
words of warning and of hope to his servants; and men say that he has
often been seen on Parnassus, playing his lyre to the listening Muses, or
with his sister, Artemis, chasing the mountain deer.

THE HUNT IN THE WOOD OF CALYDON
RELATED BY AUTOLYCUS[1]
"When I was younger than I am to-day," said the old chief, as they sat
one evening in the light of the blazing brands--"when I was much
younger than now, it was my fortune to take part in the most famous
boar hunt the world has ever known.
"There lived at that time, in Calydon, a mighty chief named
Oineus--and, indeed, I know not but that he still lives. Oineus was rich
in vineyards and in orchards, and no other man in all Greece was

happier or more blessed than he. He had married, early in life, the
Princess Althea, fairest of the maidens of Acarnania; and to them a son
had been born, golden-haired and beautiful, whom they called
Meleager.
"When Meleager was yet but one day old, his father held him in his
arms, and prayed to Zeus and the mighty powers above: 'Grant, Father
Zeus, and all ye deathless ones, that this my son may be the foremost
among the men of Greece. And let it come to pass, that when they see
his valiant deeds, his countrymen shall say, "Behold, this youth is
greater than his father," and all of one accord shall hail him as their
guardian king.'
"Then his mother, Althea, weeping tears of joy, prayed that the boy
might grow up to be pure-minded and gentle, the hope and pride of his
parents, and the delight and staff of their declining years.
"Scarcely had the words of prayer died from her lips, when there came
into her chamber the three unerring Fates who spin the destinies of men.
White-robed and garlanded, they stood beside the babe, and with
unwearied fingers drew out the lines of his untried life. Clotho held the
golden distaff in her hand, and twirled and twisted the delicate thread.
Lachesis, now sad, now hopeful, with her long white fingers held the
hour-glass, and framed her lips to say, 'It is enough.' And Atropos,
blind and unpitying as the future always is, stood ready, with cruel
shears, to clip the twist in twain. Busily and silently Clotho spun; and
the golden thread, thin as a spider's web, yet beautiful as a sunbeam,
grew longer and more golden between her skilful fingers. Then
Lachesis cried out, 'It is finished!' But Atropos hid her shears beneath
her mantle, and said, 'Not so. Behold, there is a brand burning upon the
hearth. Wait until it is all burned into ashes and smoke, and then I will
cut the thread of the child's life. Spin on, sweet Clotho!'
"Quick as thought, Althea sprang forward, snatched the blazing brand
from the hearth, and quenched its flame in a jar of water; and when she
knew that not a single spark was left glowing upon it, she locked it
safely in a chest where none but she could find it. As she did this, the
pitiless sisters vanished from her sight, saying as they flitted through
the air, 'We bide our time.'
"Meleager grew up to be a tall and fair and gentle youth; and when at
last he became a man, he sailed on the ship Argo, with Jason and the

great heroes of that day, in search of the Golden Fleece. Many brave
deeds were his in foreign lands; and when he came home again to
Calydon, he brought with him a fair young wife, gentle Cleopatra,
daughter of Idas the boaster.
"Oineus had gathered in his harvest; and he was glad and thankful in
his heart, because his fields had yielded plenteously; his vines had been
loaded with purple grapes, and his orchards filled with abundance of
pleasant fruit. Grateful, as men should always be, to the givers of peace
and plenty, he held within his halls a harvest festival, to which he
invited the brave and beautiful of all the country round. Happy was this
feast, and the hours were bright with smiles and sunshine; and men
forgot sorrow and labor, and thought only of the gladness of life.
"Then Oineus took of the first-fruits of his fields and his vineyards and
his orchards, and offered them with much thankfulness to the givers of
good. But he forgot to deck the shrine of Artemis with gifts, little
thinking that the huntress