Meleager And Atalanta
After the adventure with the Argonauts, Meleager returned to his home at Calydon, only to find a savage boar had ravaged the land, destroyed the crops and killed all those who neared it. Meleager cannot slay this beast himself, so he sent for his friends among the Argonauts, namely Heracles, Theseus, Peleus, Telamon, Admentus, Nestor, Jason, and particularly the maiden huntress Atalanta, whom he loved. Meleager was the prince son of Queen Althaea, and Atalanta was the princess of Arcadia, raised by the Immortal Huntress Artemis.
Atalanta arrived at Calydon, but Meleager's uncles Phexippus and Toxeus protested to go hunting with a woman. Meleager bade them to be silent, and off they went to the hunting grounds. They had not far to go before they sighted the boar, and Jason hurled his spear, which passed over the boar's back harmlessly. Echion flung his spear too, but missed. Then the boar rushed at young Nestor, but fortunately he was able to dodge just in time, escaping an almost certain death. Telamon rushed at the boar, but tripped, and was narrowly rescued by Peleus. The boar remained unharmed until Atalanta sent an arrow which struck its head, but the hide of the creature was so thick that the arrow failed kill it. Next Meleager launched a spear, which hit the boar and sent it falling to the ground. With a second spear, he killed the boar without much difficulty.
Then the hunters shouted with joy, and Meleager set to skin the boar. When he had done so, he presented the head and hide to Atalanta, "Lady, take these. You were the first to wound the boar, and more honour belongs to you than to me."
Phexippus was envious, and could not contain his fury any longer, "This is an insult! My nephew won the skin, yet he gave it to a shameless girl! You may have bewitched Meleager with your beauty, but it has no power on us!"
At that he and his brother Toxeus seized hold of Atalanta and snatched the boar's head from her. Then Meleager lost his temper completely, and with a yell of rage he thrust his sword deep into Phexippus heart. He killed Toxeus also, and after that the party sadly returned to the city, carrying the dead bodies, while Atalanta carried the head and the hide of the boar. When Queen Althaea saw that her two brothers were killed by her son, she was so angry that she cursed him. And the Three Fates answered the curse, for one evening, as Meleager was feasting with his friends, his cup suddenly fell from his hand, and with a cry of agony he fell to the ground. In a few minutes, he was dead.
There were mourning throughout Calydon, and the queen herself committed suicide out of grief. In the later days, Heracles fell in love with Meleager's sister, Princess Deianara, and the two married. They lived at Calydon for quite a while, aiding the new king in his rule.
Meanwhile Atalanta had returned to her home in Tegea, where her father King Iasus ruled. She refused to marry anyone, and his father lamented, "But I will have no son to succeed me!"
Atalanta replied, "Then I will marry, as a daughter should, on one condition. Every prince who comes as my suitor must race with me. If he is swifter, then I will marry him. But if I beat them, then they must forfeit their lives."
Iasus agreed, and sent heralds throughout Greece to tell the news. Several princes came, but all of them lost the race and were beheaded. Soon no one else dared to try, and Atalanta smiled happily, for she was determined never to marry. But her cousin Prince Melanion, who loved her, sought the aid of Aphrodite the Immortal of Love, who granted him his request. She lent him the three Golden Apples which Heracles retrieved during one of his labours, and Melanion at once knew what to do. So the race began, and Atalanta let Melanion gain on her, for she knew that she was twice as fast a runner as he was. But when he saw her shadow closing on him, he dropped a golden apple, which rolled in front of her. Atalanta could not resist the desire to possess the lovely apple, so she stopped and picked it up, while Melanion sped ahead. Then she resumed chase, but as soon as she neared him, he dropped a second golden apple. Once more she stopped and picked up the apple, and resumed the chase. And once more Melanion dropped a golden apple when she drew near, and this time Atalanta stopped only to see Melanion touched the winning post. And so they became the new king and queen of Tegea.
Back in Calydon, Heracles and Deianara were living happily, until one day when Heracles accidentally killed a cousin of the king. So they left the town, and wandered towards the north. Now, on their way, they reached the river Evenus, where the centaur Nessus dwelt. The centaur was to carry travellers across the river on his back, but Nessus was an enemy of Heracles, so while carrying Deianara, he suddenly turned down stream, and ran away. She screamed for help, and Heracles drew his bow and shot the centaur with one of his poisonous arrows. And as the centaur died, he told Deianara, "Lady, I will tell you a secret. When I am dead keep a little of the blood from my wounds, and if you ever find that Heracles has ceased to love you, soak a robe in it and give it to him. That will make him love you more than ever before."
Then he died, and Deianara did as she was told, believing Nessus. But she did not tell Heracles.
After the incident they reached Trachis, and were welcomed kindly by King Ceyz. There they settled down happily, but very soon Heracles was forced to set out on another dangerous expedition.