Born of Aristaeus and Autonoe, I was. My father Aristaeus, the son of Apollo, he himself was a minor god. My mother, daughter of Cadmus, a king. I was bound for destiny, glued to greatness. As a child my father was taken by Hermes, then he was gifted the gift of immortality. Taught by nymphs to make cheese and keep bees, he passed this knowledge and craft to humankind. My father was a teacher, and a protector of such crafts.
This story is not of my father, or my mother, or either of my grandfather's Apollo and Cadmus alike. This story is about me, Actaeon. I was a great hunter, I was taught by Chiron himself. Chiron, the great teacher of Hercules and Achilles, great heros. I was meant to be a hero. Anyways, I was taught the ways of hunting, and I was good at it. So good that I sometimes hunted with a pact and out killed them all.
In fact that's exactly what I was doing that day, or what I had planned to do. I was excited the day before that I slept early to wake early the next day.
"You should come to dinner, my son." My mother warned, I ignored her and went right to my room and slept.
I awoke the next day and gather my beautiful hounds together. My mother says I have too many of them, I think fifty is a suiting number.
"I'm off to go hunting, good day mother, good day father." I call as I walk out of our palace, they hate it when I don't kiss them goodbye. I think I'm getting far too old for it.
"Who with?" My father called after me. I turned petting my hounds as they jumped with excitement.
"Just Acamas, Aello, Aethon, Agre, Agriodus, Agrius, Alce, Arcas, Arethusa, Draco, Dromas, Dromius, Echione, Echnobas, Eudromus, Gorgo, Lycisca, Lynceste, Machimus, Melampus, Melanchaetes, Melaneus, Nape, Orias, Oribasus, Oxyrrhoe, Pachylus, Poemenis, Pterelas, Sagnos, Sticte, Stilbon, Syrus, Theron, Thous, Tigris, Urania, Volatos, Zephyrus-" As soon as he guessed that I was to name all fifty of my fellowship he commanded me to stop.
"Alright, I understand. Off you go, be safe and return to me and your mother in one piece." He said with a smile, I left and started into the woods. I encountered no danger on my way through the trees and nature. I met a few friends on the way and they travelled with me.
"Look at that one." One of my friends spotted a beautiful deer. My hounds running through the grass and leaves. I shushed them and pointed at a deer.
"Do you think that he knows the fates have cut his life today?" I joked, my friends silently laughed and my precious hounds shifted with anticipation.
Soon I gave the signal and let them chase the deer until it tired and then I shot it. My hounds chewed it up. I watched wondering if it even knew what was happening.
Did it know when it woke that today would be it's last? Did it know when it heard my whistle that it meant inevitable death? I quickly shook these questions. I needed a deer to sacrifice to Artemis. Deer being her sacred animal. This was not the deer for that, my hounds have torn it to pieces.
"Not to worry, I am a suitable hunter. I could kill one hundred more today." I said petting my hounds and letting them eat.
I noticed only a few were actually satisfied, so I decided to feed the rest. Chasing and killing four more deer before I decided I was tired and done for the day. I lifted my arm wiping sweat from my brow. I realized was far from home, I accidentally ran deeper into the woods trying to feed my loyal companions. My friends decided to go off and find more, these to feed us instead. I was tired so I found a rock to rest on.
I awaken the next day not remembering that I had fallen asleep. I am disgusting and thirsty, so I look for a stream or a lake to bathe and drink from. I hear water, but also women?
"Maybe it's just nymphs." I say to myself continuing to follow the sound. I'll just explain that I'm thirsty and drenched in sweat, I thought.
I look up finally at the stream, there I see a group of beautiful women. Most unclothed. I'm unable to speak, but I notice a bow. The women gather around one of them. She's no ordinary woman, she's Artemis. The goddess of hunting stood ahead of me.
I look away, but quickly look back unable to fathom. Am I the first man to see her unclothed? It was as if she heard my thoughts, because she reached for her bow. But set it back down and looked at me.
"Artemis.." I said and she splashed water on me. I immediately felt the divine properties of the water.
"Now go and tell, if you can, that you have seen Artemis unapparelled." She spoke.
Why would I run and tell others that I had seen my devine grandmother without clothes? I thought.
I opened my mouth to explain but as soon as my vocal cords shook I started to feel something spread through my scalp. I reached and felt horns, terrified I began to run away.
"This is where we left him to rest." I heard one of my hunting companions say. I yelled for help but I heard nothing but a growl.
I unintentionally leaned forward while running and jumped, catching myself with hooves. What was happening to me? I finally found my hunting group and I screamed for help once again, this time a louder growl.
"Look! That's the biggest we've seen all day!"
My hounds, they'd certainly recognize their master, or so I thought.
They immediately barked and ran after me with vicious eyes and a sense to eat me. They didn't know Actaeon, they only knew me as their next meal. I took off running in the opposite direction.
Recognize me! I thought as I ran for shelter.
Recognize me! I thought as arrows past me.
Recognize me! I thought as I felt my hounds teeth sink into my thigh.
I used to be praised for my hunting. I fell, the immense pain of ten sets of teeth clawed into my body. I was being eaten alive by my hounds. Soon my hunting group caught up with them.
"Do you think it knew when it woke that today would be it's last?" I heard one of them say.
I did not.
