Greek plays concern mythological stories and tragedians often performed their own versions of the myths which were told in epic and lyric poems. Euripides’
Meleagrosdeals with the ancient tale of the hero Meleagros (or Meleager), the earliest detailed account of whose story is narrated by Phoenix in the Embassy to Achilles in Homer’
Iliad(9.529-605). Euripides’ play is lost and we have only twenty-eight fragments (frr. 515-537 Kannicht; see also the editions of Nauck 1889, 525-531, of Jouan – Van Looy 2000, 406-411, of Collard – Cropp 2008, 614-616 and of Francisetti Brolin 2018). The date is uncertain (see further below).
The Myth
The MythMeleagros is one of the sons of Oeneus, king of Calydon, who insults Artemis when he forgets to make a sacrifice to her. Because she is
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Citation: Francisetti Brolin, Sonia. "Meleager". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 July 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38836, accessed 24 November 2024.]