ACTHEON, A HUNTER DEVOURED BY HIS DOGS

In this article, we are going to learn about Actaeon, a hero from Greek mythology, who was an excellent hunter trained in the art of hunting by his father and the centaur Chiron, and his life was ended because his fifty dogs died. with the.

Actaeon

In Greek mythology Άκταίων Aktaiôn, meant Actaeon, he was the son of Aristaeus and Autonoe of Boeotia, and grandson of Cadmus, founder of the city of Thebes. He was an excellent hunter, who had been taught the art by both his father and the centaur Chiron, who dedicated himself to instructing heroes, including Achilles.

Actaeon was a character whose greatest passion was hunting, which is why he enjoyed long trips carrying his weapons and best tools to hunt the best prey.

The myth

The story about Actaeon tells that everything originates, because Artemis dedicated her life to chastity, her nudity could not be seen by anyone, but, one of those days she was bathing naked with her nymphs in a beautiful lagoon, within the cool and green forests of the Boeotian city of Orchomenus, while the hunter prowled the place, and was involuntarily spotted when they were playing and having fun; while the hunter was paralyzed by such beauty, admired and fascinated by what his eyes saw.

However, Artemis realizes what is happening, and takes it as an offense and fault on the part of Actaeon, and a break in her sublime life. Her mind was immediately invaded by rage, and she decides to punish without any mercy. , that young man and as punishment he turns him into a deer, for having defiled his naked body and the virginity of his secrets, so he ordered the fifty dogs owned by Actaeon, so that they themselves would go in search of him, they would devour him and destroy him. her body.

The hounds, without much wait, ran to destroy the body into pieces, leaving part of its flesh scattered around the place, and to make matters worse, they returned disoriented and crying to the forest to look for their master, who they never found.

In this way, the experienced hunter Actaeon ends his life in the mouths of those animals, who were his faithful companions, but unfortunately ended the existence of his master.

In the forest was the centaur Chiron, the dogs ran into him, and seeing the desperate and distressed animals, to calm them down, he built a statue of their deceased owner.

There are different versions that tell about the death of Actaeon, where they say that the hunter claimed to be the best hunter, even surpassing Artemis, which angers Artemis and not really the sacrilege of seeing his naked body.

In Ovid’s Metamorphosis, he narrates that the goddess Artemis was with her companions the nymphs. Meanwhile, in another version of the legend, it appears that Actaeon boasted of being the best of all hunters, even than Artemis herself, so the annoying goddess turned him into a deer to be eaten by her own hunting hounds.

Between the story of Actaeon and the blindness of Tiresias there are some similarities, where they relate that the hunter was blinded, as punishment for having seen the nakedness of Athena’s body, while the myth of Actaeon and the Chaldean of Aqht and the goddess Anat. Below we present a summary of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

“The color that some clouds take when the sun hits them from the front, or the shameless dawn, just as Diana felt when she saw herself naked.

However, the group of her companions surrounded her, while she left his side, gently slid her head back, and as she wanted to have the dates in her hands, she took what was closest to her, the water, which she bathed with She looked at that man’s face, and poured the righteous liquid over his hair, exclaiming words that indicate an imperious calamity: Now you are allowed to tell that you have seen my naked body, if you can tell it.

Artistic representation

The myth of the character Actaeon continues to be present in a variety of artistic forms, so you can enjoy his works in the British Museum where there are works in Hellenic relief that exhibit the myth. An amphora from the 5th century BC is also preserved that carries the name of Artemis murdering Actaeon.

In 1684, Marc-Antoine Charpentier made a musical production of the disastrous lyric called Actaeon.

The archaic Diodorus Siculus dedicated himself to making some modifications in the history of this character. Likewise, he was captured in the works of art of many painters such as: Titian, Nicolás Poussin, Parmigianino, Veronese, Rembrandt, Annibale Carracci or Delacroix.

Interpretation

The artist Jean Paul Sartre, in his work “Being and Nothingness”, points out that what sounds interesting in the myth of Actaeon is how the physiological and psychosocial is described, which translates: the curious and lustful gaze, with exaltation in the unbridled search.

What he wants to express, warning that the observer is the hunter who astonishes a calm nudity and violates it with his sight.

So, the accumulation of these figures suggests hunting as a sign of appropriation, as well as inspiration and sexual desire, it is likely to be more original, because hunting is done to feed, and in turn to possess. Loitering, in the animal, is usually for feeding or sexual. Curiosity out of necessity leads to the notion. To know is to feed with your eyes.

The famous writer of Polish origin, Pierre Klossowski, nationalized in France, in 1956 published a short novel titled “Diana’s Bath”, where he reflects on the legend.

Actaeon in Spanish literature

The baroque literary, named Antonio Mira de Amescua, captured his work where he narrates in his poem, the myth composed in fifty-eight authentic octaves of the attractive Fable of Actaeon and Diana, and later in the 18th century, the writer José Antonio Porcel and Salablanca, also wrote his burlesque fable about Actaeon and Diana.

You can learn more information about other famous legends by entering the following links:

(Visited 885 times, 1 visits today)