Melanion (son of Amphidamas)
Arcadian prince who married the huntress Atalanta.
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Melanion (Ancient Greek: Μελανίων, romanized: Melaníōn) or Milanion (Ancient Greek: Μειλανίων, romanized: Meilaníōn) is an Arcadian prince in Greek mythology who married Atalanta, the fearsome huntress who killed the Calydonian boar. He is often conflated with Atalanta's husband Hippomenes in ancient sources, but the two likely originated from independent traditions and are not entirely interchangeable.
Quick Facts
- Born
- Arcadia (mythological)
- Died
- Transformed into a lion (in some accounts)
- Field
- Greek mythology
- Nationality
- Arcadian (mythological)
Facts from the source article.
Background
Melanion was the son of Amphidamas, a prince of Arcadia, and brother of Antimache. Amphidamas was the brother of Iasus, Atalanta's father in the Arcadian version, making Melanion and his wife first cousins. In some versions, Melanion supplants the Boeotian Hippomenes as the man who marries Atalanta, though his way of wooing her is often overlooked by ancient testimonies. He is sometimes presented as the winner of the footrace, and as a hunter who avoided marriage, he can be seen as a male counterpart to Atalanta.
Did You Know?
- In Aristophanes' play Lysistrata, the male chorus says Melanion avoided marriage and withdrew to the mountains out of hatred for women.
- The François Vase shows Melanion hunting the Calydonian boar side-by-side with Atalanta, possibly as his wedded wife.
More in Mythological hunters
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Melanion (son of Amphidamas) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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