Oeneus in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Oeneus

20 passages from 12 ancient authors that tell of Oeneus, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Oeneus was a king of the area of Calydon in Greek mythology, son of King Porthaon and Queen Euryte. He married Althaea, with whom he had a number of c... For the story in one place, read our article on Oeneus.

Hesiod (2)

Hesiod, Fragments 1.50–60Aeacus, Peleus and ThetisThese fragments follow the family of Oeneus and Hippostratus, and then Aeacus and the Myrmidons. Peleus and Acastus appear, Peleus comes to Phthia with great possessions, and Thetis is said to have avoided wedlock with Zeus.
Hesiod, Fragments 1.97–99Ellopia, a fierce boar and the house of AmphiarausA fragment describes the land of Ellopia, its flocks and cattle, and the oak oracle of Dodona. A longer passage describes a terrible fight in which no mortal could face a boar with gleaming tusks except Heracles. The last fragment gives the seer Amphiaraus, his wife Eriphyle and their son Alcmaeon.

Homer (2)

Homer, Iliad 9.529–605Phoenix tells the story of MeleagerPhoenix tells of the war between the Aetolians and the Curetes over the boar sent against Oeneus' land, in which Meleager, angered at his mother's curses, stayed away from the fighting while the Curetes pressed the city. The elders, priests and his own father and friends begged him to come out and offered rewards, but he held out until his wife Cleopatra pleaded with him, and then he fought without the gifts. Phoenix urges Achilles to come while gifts are offered, and not wait until the ships are on fire.
Homer, Iliad 6.119–236Diomedes and Glaucus exchange armourDiomedes and Glaucus meet between the armies, and Diomedes asks who he is, saying that he will not fight a god. Glaucus answers that the generations of men are like leaves, and tells how his forefather Bellerophon was sent to Lycia, where he overcame the Chimaera, the Solymi and the Amazons. Diomedes, learning that their grandfathers were guest-friends, plants his spear and they exchange armour, Zeus taking the wits of Glaucus so that he gives gold for bronze.

Apollodorus (2)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 1.8.1–6Oeneus, Meleager and the Calydonian boarOeneus of Calydon is the first to receive a vine from Dionysus, and the Fates declare that his son Meleager will die when the brand on the hearth is burnt out, so Althaea hides it. When Oeneus forgets Artemis in his sacrifices she sends a boar, and a company of heroes is gathered; Atalanta wounds it first and Meleager kills it and gives her the hide. He kills his mother's brothers, the sons of Thestius, who took it from her, and Althaea burns the brand; a second version has him fall in a war against the Curetes. The section ends with Oeneus's later marriage, Tydeus (father of Diomedes) and the revenge of Diomedes on the sons of Agrius.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 2.7.1–8Heracles' wars, Deianira and the death of HeraclesHera's storms drive Heracles to Cos on his way back from Troy, and he then fights beside the gods against the Giants. He campaigns against Augeas and the Molionides in Elis, against Pylos and against Hippocoon in Sparta, and fathers Telephus by Auge. He wins Deianira from Achelous and kills the centaur Nessus at the Evenus; after taking Oechalia, he puts on the robe stained with Nessus's blood and burns on Mount Oeta, rising to heaven and marrying Hebe. The section ends with a long list of his children, among them his sons by the daughters of Thespius.

Euripides (1)

Euripides, Rhesus 882–949Exodos: the Muse mourns her son RhesusThe Chorus wonders why fate changes and brings Troy again to mourning, and sees the corpse of Rhesus being carried in. The Muse, his mother, appears, laments her son, and curses the son of Oeneus and the son of Laertes. She tells how she bore Rhesus by the river Strymon and gave him to the fountain nymphs to rear, and she blames Athena for his death.

Apollonius Rhodius (1)

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1.122–233The catalogue of the Argonauts, continuedHeracles leaves the Erymanthian boar at Mycenae and joins the expedition with Hylas. The catalogue goes on with Nauplius, Idmon, Castor and Polydeuces, Idas and Lynceus, Euphemus, Meleager, and Zetes and Calais, the winged sons of Boreas, and ends with Acastus and Argus. The poet adds that the whole company was called the Minyae.

Callimachus (1)

Callimachus, Hymns 3.1–268Hymn to Artemis: the goddess's childhood wishesAs a small girl on her father's knees, Artemis asks Zeus to let her stay a maiden for ever and to give her a bow, a short tunic, sixty nymphs of Oceanus for her choir and twenty nymphs of Amnisus to tend her hounds, and Zeus smiles and grants it, adding cities. She visits the Cyclopes on Lipara for her arrows, takes hounds from Pan in Arcadia and captures four golden-horned deer for her chariot. The poet praises her favourite places and companions, among them Britomartis, Cyrene and Atalanta, and her shrines at Miletus and Ephesus. He ends with a warning to those who wronged her, such as Oeneus, Otus and Orion.

Aristophanes (2)

Aristophanes, The Acharnians 393–488Episode: Dicaeopolis borrows the rags of Telephus from EuripidesDicaeopolis resolves to plead for the enemy dressed as a beggar, and goes to Euripides' house, where a servant says that the poet is within and not within. Euripides, working aloft, lends him the rags of Telephus, then a Mysian cap, a staff, a basket, a tankard, a pitcher and some withered leaves. When Dicaeopolis asks for chervil as one last thing, Euripides loses patience and has the door shut.
Aristophanes, Frogs 1216–1259Agon: the bottle of oil and the turn to lyricsAeschylus ends each of Euripides' prologues with the words 'lost his bottle of oil', and the line fits every one. Dionysus advises Euripides to buy the bottle off and tells him to lower his sails, while Euripides says that he has plenty of prologues left. In the end Dionysus tells them to turn to the lyrics, and Euripides says that he will cut Aeschylus' songs down to one.

Diodorus Siculus (2)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.34.1–4.35.4Deianeira, Meleager and the Calydonian boarHeracles settles at Calydon and marries Deïaneira, daughter of Oeneus. The chapters tell of Meleager and the Calydonian boar: his love for Atalanta, his killing of Althaea's brothers, and his mother's curse, with Oeneus's remarriage to Periboea and the birth of Tydeus.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.36.1–4.39.4The death of HeraclesHeracles takes the field with the Calydonians against the Thesprotians and, after he kills a serving boy by accident, goes into exile with Deïaneira. At the river Euenus the centaur Nessus attacks her; dying, he gives her a charm, and years later she uses it on a robe to win Heracles back from Iole. The robe consumes Heracles, who has himself burned on a pyre on Mount Oeta; the section closes with the honours paid to him as hero and god.

Pausanias (4)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.13.1–8Phlius: the Dorian conquest and the sights of the acropolis and market-placeThe Dorian Rhegnidas takes Phlius, and Hippasus, ancestor of Pythagoras, withdraws to Samos. Pausanias describes the acropolis with the grove and sanctuary of Ganymeda or Hebe, the temples of Hera, Demeter and Asclepius, and the theatre. In the market-place are the bronze goat worshipped against blight, the tomb of Aristias, the house of divination associated with Amphiaraus, the Navel, and the chapel of Cyathus killed by Hercules.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.25.1–10Argive roads: Oenoe, Lyrcea, Orneae, Tiryns, Midea and LessaPausanias follows the roads leading out of Argos. The Mantinea road passes a double sanctuary of Aphrodite and Ares, Oenoe named for Oeneus, and Mount Artemisius with the springs of the Inachus; another leads to Lyrcea and Orneae. On the Epidaurus road he notes the pyramid-like monument of the fight between Proetus and Acrisius, the Cyclopean walls of Tiryns, the ruins of Midea, and Lessa with its temple of Athena and Mount Arachnaeus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.5.1–5Athens: the Rotunda and the eponymous heroes of the tribesNear the Council House is the Rotunda, where the presidents sacrifice, and above it stand statues of the heroes who gave their names to the Athenian tribes, among them Hippothoon, Antiochus, Ajax, Leos, Erechtheus, Aegeus, Oeneus and Acamas. Pausanias distinguishes two kings called Cecrops and two called Pandion, and tells of Pandion’s exile at Megara and of Tereus, Procne and Philomela. He adds the later tribes named after Attalus, Ptolemy and the Emperor Hadrian, and mentions Hadrian’s benefactions.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 4.35.1–11Mothone: the Illyrian raid, Athena of the Winds and remarkable watersPausanias explains the origin of Mothone’s name, the settlement of the Nauplians there and its grant of freedom by Trajan. He tells how Illyrian pirates, after the fall of the Epirote kingdom, lured the townspeople down to their ships and carried them off. He notes the temple of Athena of the Winds and the pitch-water well, and lists remarkable waters he has seen elsewhere in the Greek world.

Quintus Smyrnaeus (1)

Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 1.766–830Diomedes and Thersites; the Amazons buriedDiomedes, a kinsman of Thersites, is the only Argive angry at his death, and the two heroes are on the point of fighting before their comrades reconcile them. The Atreidae give Penthesileia's body and arms back to Priam, who buries her with her horse beside Laomedon's tomb and buries her Amazons beside her. The Argives raise a mound for Podarces, throw Thersites into a pit, and feast with Achilles.

Bacchylides (1)

Bacchylides, Epinicians (Odes of Victory) 5.1–200Ode 5: Heracles meets Meleager in HadesThe poet sends Hieron a song and compares his own flight to the eagle's, celebrating the victory of the chestnut horse Pherenicus at Olympia and at Pytho. He tells how Heracles went down to Hades for the hound of Hades, saw the shade of Meleager and drew his bow, but was told there was nothing to fear. Meleager tells of the Calydonian boar sent by Artemis, of the quarrel over its hide, and of the brand burned by his mother Althaea that ended his life. Moved to tears, Heracles asks about a sister he might marry, and Meleager names Deianeira; the ode ends with praise of Hieron and a prayer to Zeus.

Epic Cycle (1)

Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 3.1–4.4Thebaid and EpigoniThe Thebaid fragments tell how Polyneices set a silver table before Oedipus and how Oedipus called down a curse on his sons when he saw the haunch, and how Adrastus fled Thebes with Areion. The Epigoni is quoted for the Teumesian fox and for Manto, the daughter of Teiresias, who was sent to Delphi.