Althaea (mythology)



Althaea (also commonly spelled Althea, Ἀλθαία - Althaía) was in Greek mythology the daughter of King Thestius and Eurythemis, and was sister to Lecla, Hypermnestra, Iphiclus, Euippus, &c. She was also the wife of Oeneus, king of Calydon, and mother of five sons, Meleager, Melanippe (one of the Meleagrids), Troxeus, Thyreus, Clymenus, and two daughters, Deianeira and Gorge. According to some writers, Meleager was the result of a liaison with the Greek god Ares, and Deianeira the progeny of Althaea and the god Dionysus.

Althaea is especially celebrated in ancient story about the fate of her son Meleager, who also became the cause of her death. When Meleager was born, the Moirae (the fates) predicted he would only live until a brand, burning in the family hearth, was consumed by fire. Althaea immediately hid the brand. Later, Meleager killed his mother's two brothers in an argument and she placed the brand back upon the fire, killing him. Some say that she later hanged herself, others that she killed herself with a dagger.

Other sources

 * Thomas Bulfinch. Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable or Stories of Gods and Heroes. 1855 (Chapter XVIII).

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