Actaeon And Artemis Myth | Story Of Actaeon And Diana | Greek Mythology And Folklore

The story of Artemis and Actaeon told the misfortune of a certain hunter named Actaeon. For not knowing what he did, he came to be punished, and suffered to be hunted, just as he had hunted. The hunter became the hunted. Actaeon was one of the quite many figures in Greek mythology who met a tragic end. He was the son of the herdsmen, Cadmus, the legendary king of Thebes. Actaeon resided in the region of Boeotia, and like many of the Greek heroes, he was trained by the centaur Chiron, to be a skilled hunter. Actaeon's own death is what made him famous. As the myths say, it was not any crime of his the cause of his death, but mere misfortune. Actaeon knew nothing about the secret cave of Artemis in the Vale of Gargavia. That explains why he came wandering close to the area, with his dogs after a day of hunt. He unwittingly ventured into the cave, just when the chaste goddess of the wildwoods was preparing to bathe in the waters of the spring, together with the nymphs who attended to her. Amazed by her ravishing beauty, Actaeon stood and watched long enough to be spotted by the nymphs. The nymphs screamed in surprise and circled Artemis, attempting to cover her body with their own. But Artemis, standing head and shoulders over the rest, took up the water and flung it into Actaeon's face saying, Now you are free to tell that you have seen me all unrobed, that is, if you can tell. Just as the goddess had uttered those words, Actaeon began to turn into a deer. And when the transformation was completed, the goddess further planted fear within his heart. As the deer Actaeon fled away in a bid to get to safety, his dogs went after him, pursuing him in all grounds around Mount Thoron, between Boeotia and Attica. And at last, when having finally caught him, the dogs buried their fangs all over his body until he had been torn to pieces. That was the end of Actaeon. In a slightly different version, Artemis cursed Actaeon that if he spoke a word to anyone, he would change into a deer. However, when the hunter heard his hunting dogs howl in the distance, he forgot the words of the goddess and called to them, and so, he immediately transformed into a deer. He started running into the woods to escape his dogs, but the well-trained dogs found him and tore him to pieces. No sooner had the dogs unknowingly killed their master, they roamed the woods, seeking him and howling in grief. Still searching for him, they came to the cave of the centaur Chiron, who made an image of the unfortunate Actaeon to soothe their grief. Because of this punishment, some people deemed Artemis, the chaste goddess of the hunt and wild, to be cruel and inconsiderate, but others judged her act worthy of her chastity. There are few accounts which say that Artemis did not turn Actaeon into a deer solely because he saw her naked. These accounts claim that Actaeon had disrespected the goddess before the bathing incident. One of them told that Actaeon was an arrogant fellow who presented himself as a better hunter and superior to Artemis. Thus, his boast was the reason behind his unfortunate fate. The second account, said that Actaeon came into the cave, and tried to seduce the goddess who, in her anger, made horns grow on his head, turning him into a stag. Still, a third version said that Actaeon dedicated the fruits of his hunting to Artemis, and purposed to marry her right in the temple of the goddess. And last account, said that what happened to Actaeon was masterminded by Zeus, because Actaeon loved Semele, the mother of Dionysus. At the order of Zeus, Artemis then cast a deerskin round Actaeon to make sure that his dogs would kill him, so as to prevent him to marry Semele. Nevertheless, and whichever the case may be, Actaeon's death was much lamented by his parents. His father Aristois migrated to Sardinia, while his mother Rotunna was said to have left Thebes to live near Megara, because of her grief at the death of her son.