Lot Essay
Meleager's father had offended Diana, who in revenge sent a boar to ravage the countryside. Meleager set out with a group of men to hunt it down, but the first to wound it was Atalanta, the virgin huntress Meleager loved. When the Caledonian boar finally died, Meleager gave Atalanta its pelt and head. This caused a quarrel among his companions in which he killed his two uncles. The Fates decreed at his birth that Meleager would live as long as a log they had placed in a fire survived. His mother had taken it out to preserve it, but upon hearing that Meleager had killed two of her brothers, she threw it back again, sending Meleager slowly to his death.