ACTAEON (son of Aristaeus)

After tiring from his hunts, Actaeon rested on a rock near a spring, where he looked into the water while Artemis was bathing.^5,1 In some accounts, he boasted that he was superior to the goddess in the hunt.³ Artemis transformed Actaeon into a deer, a change that left him in the form of an imaginary stag and a strange, pitiful booty for dogs.^1,6,7,8

The goddess drove his fifty dogs mad, causing them to attack without distinction, while in other versions the hounds were struck by madness without divine interference.^1,9 Actaeon fled from his own hunting dogs, making groaning noises that were neither human nor typical stag sounds.¹⁰ He tried to tell the dogs he was their master but could not speak, turning his silent looks around as if using them as arms in entreaty.¹⁰ Melanchætes was the first dog to wound him on the back, followed by Theridamas, while Oresitrophus bit him on the shoulder.¹⁰ Spartus, Omargus, and Bores were the first to drink his blood as the rest of the pack tore his body apart until no room remained.^1,10

In another account, Actaeon was dismembered and killed by his mother and her companions, with Ino’s violence dragging off his left arm.¹¹ He displayed his maimed body to his mother to show his injuries, and his severed head was seized by her with blood-stained fingers.¹¹

The Orchomenians claimed a ghost carrying a rock was ravaging their land until the god at Delphi instructed them to find and bury Actaeon's remains.¹² They sacrificed to him annually as a hero, and he was transformed into a seer who interprets bird omens, delivering oracles to the Boeotians and Cadmus.^12,6 Artemis gave him a staff to guide his steps, and he became a companion to the goddess in hunting, though some say he would be blind after seeing the bath.⁶ According to Stesichorus, this death prevented him from marrying Semele, a fate that served as a warning example for Pentheus.^5,3,1 The name of the region Attica is said to be derived from Actaeon.¹³