Calydonian boar hunt

The Calydonian boar hunt stands as one of the greatest heroic adventures in Greek mythology. This legendary event took place in the generation before the Trojan War, ranking alongside the voyage of the Argonauts as one of the most significant heroic quests of that era.

The hunt was organized to kill the Calydonian boar (also known as the Aetolian boar), a monstrous creature sent by the goddess Artemis to devastate the region of Calydon in Aetolia. Artemis unleashed this punishment because King Oeneus had failed to include her in his sacrificial offerings to the gods.

The hunting party, led by the hero Meleager, included many of Greece's most renowned heroes. Most accounts also feature the great heroine Atalanta, who earned the boar's hide by being the first to wound it with an arrow. This accomplishment angered many of the male hunters, triggering a tragic conflict.

The Calydonian boar hunt brought together numerous heroes—many of whom were revered as ancestors of ruling houses among various Hellenic tribal groups into Classical times—making it a natural subject in classical art. The story was rich with interconnected myths surrounding its participants, their semi-divine origins, and their descendants.

Like the quest for the Golden Fleece (Argonautica) or the Trojan War of the following generation, the Calydonian boar hunt represents one of the key nexus points where multiple strands of Greek mythology converge.