< Oeneus, son of Calydon >
1 Origin
Oeneus was born in Calydon in 1290 BC.
1.1 Father of Oeneus
1.1.1 Traditional father of Oeneus
The following are the names of Oeneus' father:
Homer says he was Portheus, father of Agrius and Melas.
Hesiod says he was Porthaon.
Hyginus says he was Parthaon.
Apollodoros says he was Parthaon, son of Agenor, son of Pleuron.
Antoninus Liberalis says he was Portheus.
Pausanias says he was Porthaon.
1.1.2 Another Oeneus
Pausanias records the legend of Mothone of Messenia, who gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, Mothone, when Oeneus returned to Diomedes after the Trojan War.
However, Homer, in his "Catalogue of Ships," writes that Oeneus was already dead.
Oeneus' grandson Diomedes had married before the Trojan War, and Oeneus was old enough to have great-grandchildren.
Thus, it seems likely that Parthaon, son of Agenor, son of Pleuron, had a son named Oeneus, but this was probably a different man from Diomedes' grandfather.
1.1.3 Presumption of Oeneus' father
According to the tradition of Mothone, Oeneus, the son of Parthaon, was of the same generation as Diomedes, and Oeneus, the grandfather of Diomedes, was of the same generation as Agenor, the grandfather of Oeneus, the son of Parthaon.
Therefore, Oeneus, the grandfather of Diomedes, is presumed to be the son of one of the two sons of Aetolus, Pleuron and Calydon.
Also, in the battle between Curetes and the Calydonians, Meleager, the son of Oeneus, was killed by the sons of Thestius, the son of Pleuron.
In other words, Oeneus, the ruler of Calydon, was not of Curetes' lineage.
Therefore, the father of Oeneus, the grandfather of Diomedes, was Calydon, the son of Aetolus, not Pleuron, the son of Aetolus.
Pleuron, the son of Aetolus, married Xanthippe, the daughter of Dorus of Curetes. Pleuron's sons, Agenor and Thestius, were leaders of Curetes.
1.1.4 Support for the Presumption
Oeneus' son Tydeus defected to Argos to live with Adrastus, the son of Talaus.
This defection also supports the assumption that Oeneus' father was Calydon, the son of Aetolus.
Calydon's wife was Aeolia, the daughter of Amythaon.
In other words, it is assumed that Tydeus defected to live with Adrastus, the son of Talaus, the son of Bias, the brother of Aeolia, the mother of his father Oeneus.
Adrastus was Tydeus' second cousin.
2 Family
Oeneus married Althaea, daughter of Thestius.
Oeneus and Althaea had a son, Meleager (or Meleagrus).
Oeneus and Althaea had sons, Toxeus, Thyreus, Clymenus, and Olenias.
Oeneus and Althaea had sons, Ancaeus and Agelaus.
Oeneus and Althaea had a son, Menalippus.
Oeneus and Althaea had a daughter, Deianeira (or Dejanira).
Oeneus married Periboea, daughter of Hipponous.
Oeneus and Periboea had a son, Tydeus.
Oeneus and Periboea had a daughter, Gorges (or Gorge).
Oeneus also had a son, Laocoon.
3 Battle with Curetes
In 1246 BC, the conflict between the colonists and the natives, which had been going on since the time of the settlement of Aetolus, became a battle that would be handed down to later generations.
The fierce battle between the Aetolians and Curetes lasted for six days.
This battle became the story of the Calydonian boar hunt.
3.1 Conquest of Olenus
Oeneus attacked and captured Olenus in Aetolia, taking Hipponous' daughter Periboea captive.
Strabo writes that Aeolis destroyed Olenus.
Oeneus belonged to the Aetolians, a branch of the Epeans, a branch of Aeolis, and the Aeolis described by Strabo seems to be Oeneus.
However, since the name of Olenus in Aetolia appears in Homer's "Catalogue of Ships," it is unlikely that Oeneus was the destroyer.
The destroyer of Olenus is presumed to be Aeolis, who lived in Calydon and Pleuron, as described by Thucydides.
3.2 Victory or Defeat of the Battle
Oeneus of Calydon was victorious, and took control of Pleuron and Curetes.
The dominion of Oeneus extended from Calydon westward, far beyond Pleuron and the settlements of Curetes, to the river Achelous, which marks the border between Acarnania and Aetolia, and was called the river Thestius in the time of Oeneus.
4 Living with Heracles
In 1238 BC, Heracles, the son of Amphitryon, moved from Pheneus in Arcadia to Calydon.
Shortly before this, Heracles had been fighting Elis, and Oecles, the son of Mantius, who led the Argives, also participated in the battle.
It is assumed that Heracles was introduced to Oeneus of Calydon by Oecles.
Oecles' wife, Hypermnestra, was the daughter of Thestius, and Oeneus was the husband of her sister Althaea. In other words, Oeneus was Oecles' brother-in-law.
In addition, Melampus, the father of Oecles' father Mantius, was the brother of Aeolia, the wife of Calydon, father of Oeneus. In other words, Oeneus was the son of Oecles' grandfather's brother-in-law.
4.1 Battle with Achelous
In 1238 BC, Heracles defeated Achelous, who had invaded Calydon.
Achelous' wife was Melpomene (or Sterope), daughter of Parthaon, son of Agenor, son of Pleuron. This suggests that Pleuron attacked Calydon.
However, Melpomene was a second cousin of the sons of Molione, daughter of Molus, son of Pleuron. This means that Achelous' target may have been Heracles himself, who had killed the sons of Molione.
4.2 Marriage of Deianeira
After the battle with Achelous, Heracles married Deianeira, daughter of Oeneus.
Heracles was 37 years old, and Deianeira was 17.
Deianeira was the woman Heracles married after he divorced Megara, daughter of Creon of Thebes. Deianeira became the mother of Heracles' eldest son, Hyllus, who became the ancestor of the most powerful members of the Heracleidae.
4.3 Campaign to Thesprotia
In 1237 BC, the Calydonians led a campaign against Thesprotia led by Heracles and captured Ephyra.
Oeneus is thought to have led the Calydonians in Heracles' attack on Ephyra.
4.4 Irrigation of Achelous
Heracles pleased Oeneus by dredging the area around the mouth of the Achelous River.
Heracles probably irrigated the flooded area near the mouth of the river Achelous, called Paracheloitis.
The Achelous flowed west of Calydon, just west of the lands inhabited by Pleuron and Curetes. Calydon and Pleuron had been at war for many years, but this proves that Oeneus's rule at that time extended all the way to the Achelous.
4.5 Heracles' Migration
Heracles left Calydon in the third year of his marriage to Deianeira.
This migration is believed to have been driven by the will of Eurystheus of Mycenae, who feared Heracles' further expansion of power in Calydon. It is assumed that Oecles' son Amphiaraus conveyed this will to Oeneus. Amphiaraus was born in Calydon, and Oecles and Oeneus were brothers-in-law through their respective wives.
5 Exile in Argos
In 1202 BC, Oeneus was driven out of Calydon by the sons of Agrius and went into exile to Diomedes in Argos.
Oeneus' son-in-law Heracles had already died, but Amphissa had a son-in-law, Andraemon. At that time, the Argives had taken Thebes, and the fame of Argos must have reached Oeneus. Oeneus' son Tydeus had already died, and he was in exile, relying on his grandson Diomedes.
5.13 Diomedes' expedition
In 1202 BC, Diomedes, the son of Tydeus, the son of Oeneus, marched to Aetolia to avenge Oeneus, who had been driven out of Calydon.
5.13.1 Participants in the expedition
There are different traditions that Diomedes's ally in the expedition was Alcmaeon, son of Amphiaraus, or Sthenelus, son of Capaneus.
Alcmaeon's mother, Hypermnestra, was the daughter of Thestius of Pleuron, and it is unlikely that Alcmaeon would have participated in a battle against a relative.
Sthenelus was a close friend of Diomedes, and it is likely that he assisted him in the expedition.
Andraemon of Amphissa, Ozolian Locris, also participated in the expedition.
Andraemon was the husband of Gorges, daughter of Oeneus, and brother-in-law of Tydeus, father of Diomedes.
After the battle, Diomedes left Aetolia in the care of Andraemon.
There is also a tradition that Oeneus accompanied him on this expedition and returned to Argos.
However, this would make the expedition to bring back Oeneus meaningless, since Oeneus must have died before this, and Diomedes must have gone on the expedition to avenge him.
