The Suicides of Meleager and Althea

The suicides of Meleager and his mother Althea conclude the bloody tale of the Calydonian boar hunt, which was one of the most famous episodes of Greek legend. Prince Meleager succeeded in killing the vicious boar that was let loose in the kingdom of Calydon, but he presented the honor of the hide to his love, the sole woman on the hunt, who had first wounded the boar. Outraged that a woman should receive the honor, Meleager's maternal uncles tried to take the hide for themselves, but Meleager killed them in a fit of rage. When Althea heard that her son had killed her brothers, she plotted to kill Meleager, but he had already repented of his act by taking his own life. Realizing she was bereft of her brothers and her son, Althea then killed herself in despair.