A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology

Smith, William

A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. William Smith, LLD, ed. 1890

(Ἄλθαία), a daughter of the Aetolian king Thestius and Eurythemis, and sister of Leda, Hypermnestra, Iphiclus, Euippus, &c. She was married to Oeneus, king of Calydon, by whom she became the mother of Troxeus, Thyreus, Clymenus, and Meleager, and of two daughters, Gorge and Deianeira. (Apollod. 1.7.10, 8.1.) Apollodorus states, that according to some, Meleager was regarded as the fruit of her intercourse with Ares, and that she was mother of Deianeira by Dionvsus. (Comp. Hyg. Fab. 120, 171, 174.) Althaea is especially celebrated in ancient story on account of the tragic fate of her son Meleager, who also became the cause of her death. Some say that she hung herself, others in that she killed herself with a dagger. (Apollod. 1.8.3; Ov. Met. 8.445, &c.)

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