Son of Echion and Agave, king of Thebes, tries to stop the Bacchic orgies, is torn to pieces by his mother, insults Dionysus and is torn to pieces by Bacchanals on Mt. Cithaeron.
Son of Aristaeus and Autonoe, a hunter, woos Semele or sees Artemis bathing, torn to pieces by his dogs, painted by Polygnotus, his death, his spectre, his bed, annual sacrifices to him.
Actaeon (Aktaion). Son of Aristaeus and Autonoe, a daughter of Cadmus. He was trained in the art of hunting by the centaur Cheiron, and was afterwards torn to pieces by his own 50 hounds on mount Cithaeron. The names of these hounds are given by Ovid (Met. iii. 206, &c.) and Hyginus. (Fab. 181; comp. Stat. Theb. ii. 203). The cause of this misfortune is differently stated: according to some accounts it was because he had seen Artemis while she was bathing in the vale of Gargaphia, on the discovery of which the goddess changed him into a stag, in which form he was torn to pieces by his own dogs. (Ov. Met. iii. 155, &c.; Hygin. Fab. 181; Callim. h. in Pallad. 110). Others relate that he provoked the anger of the goddess by his boasting that he excelled her in hunting, or by his using for a feast the game which was destined as a sacrifice to her. (Eurip. Bacch. 320; Diod. iv. 81). A third account stated that he was killed by his dogs at the command of Zeus, because he sued for the hand of Semele. (Acusilaus, ap. Apollod. iii. 4.4). Pausanias (ix. 2.3) saw near Orchomenos the rock on which Actaeon used to rest when he was fatigued by hunting, and from which he had seen Artemis in the bath; but he is of opinion that the whole story arose from the circumstance that Actaeon was destroyed by his dogs in a natural fit of madness. Palaephatus (s. v. Actaeon) gives an absurd and trivial explanation of it. According to the Orchomenian tradition the rock of Actaeon was haunted by his spectre, and the oracle of Delphi commanded the Orchomenians to bury the remains of the hero, which they might happen to find, and fix an iron image of him upon the rock. This image still existed in the time of Pausanias (ix. 38.4), and the Orchomenians offered annual sacrifices to Actaeon in that place. The manner in which Actaeon and his mother were painted by Polygnotus in the Lesche of Delphi, is described by Pausanias.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Sep 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
(Paus. 9,3,9).
Its highest peak is to the SSW of the modern Platees, to the SSE of the Agia Triada Monastery. Both these places are on the slopes of the Mt. Kitheron.
A lofty range of mountains, separating Boeotia from Megaris and Attica. It was sacred to Dionysus and the Muses, and was celebrated for the death of Pentheus (q.v.) and Actaeon (q.v.). Here was celebrated the festival called Daedala (q.v.).
Cithaeron (Kithairon), a range of mountains, separating Boeotia from
Megaris and Attica, of which a description is given elsewhere. It is said to have
derived its name from Cithaeron, a mythical king of Plataeae, who assisted Zeus
with his advice when Hera was angry with him. Hence the summit was sacred to the
Cithaeronian Zeus, and here was celebrated the festival called Daedala. (Paus.
ix. 2. § 4, 3. § 1, seq.; Diet. of Ant. art. Daedala.) Cithaeron was also sacred
to Dionysus, and was the scene of several celebrated legends, such as the metamorphosis
of Actaeon, the death of Pentheus, and the exposure of Oedipus. The forest, which
covered Cithaeron, abounded in game; and at a very early period, lions and wolves
are said to have been found there. The Cithaeronian lion, slain by Alcathous,
was celebrated in mythology. (Paus. i. 41. § 3.)
(Paus. 9,3,9). Plutarchus mentions (Arist. 11) that in the old times there was an oracle in the cave and that whoever went there got so excited that the others called them "nymph-stricken".
Mountain of Boeotia, the mountain range between Attica and Boeotia, northern foothills of Cithaeron and passes over the range held by the Greeks against Mardonius, the lion of, killed by Herakles, nymphs of, pass over, Actaeon devoured by his dogs on, Theban women rave in Bacchic frenzy on, Pentheus torn to pieces there, the children of Niobe killed on, the Seven against Thebes at.
(Plut. Aristid. 11; Pausan. ix. 3, § 9).
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