«ΜΕΛΕΑΓΡΟΣ»: Ο τραγικός ήρωας της ΚΑΛΥΔΩΝΑΣ, η ΑΤΑΛΑΝΤΗ και ο ΚΑΛΥΔΩΝΙΟΣ ΚΑΠΡΟΣ
Ο συγγραφέας Γιάννης Αλεξάκης, μέσα από τις 235
πυκνογραφημένες σελίδες τού βιβλίου του, «ΜΕΛΕΑΓΡΟΣ», «ζωντανεύει» με μυθιστορηματικό
τρόπο τη φοβερή Τραγωδία, που συγκλόνισε τις δύο αρχαίες Πόλεις – Βασίλεια, των
Μυκηναϊκών χρόνων, ΚΑΛΥΔΩΝΑ και ΠΛΕΥΡΩΝΑ και «μεταφέρει» τον αναγνώστη στην
προϊστορική εκείνη εποχή.
Ο Μελέαγρος ήταν γιος του Βασιλιά της ΚΑΛΥΔΩΝΑΣ ΟΙΝΕΑ, ισάξιος του Ηρακλή σε κάλλος και δύναμη, παρορμητικός
όμως και επιπόλαιος, «αδύναμος» μπρος στη γυναικεία ομορφιά, για την οποία τα «έδωσε
όλα», οδηγώντας έτσι τα δύο γειτονικά και συγγενικά βασίλεια σε πόλεμο και
«ξεκλήρισμα», αδυνατώντας ν΄ αποφύγει τη Μοίρα του και ο ίδιος, όπως αυτή του
είχε ορίσει:
«Μελεάγρῳ οὐ πρότερον τὴν τελευτὴν συμβῆναι, πρὶν ἢ, ὑπὸ πυρὸς ἀφανισθῆναι τὸν δαυλὸν».
Οι δύο πόλεις ΚΑΛΥΔΩΝΑ και ΠΛΕΥΡΩΝΑ, πήρανε το όνομά τους
από τους ιδρυτές τους, ΚΑΛΥΔΩΝΑ και ΠΛΕΥΡΩΝΑ, οι οποίοι ήσαν γιοί του ΑΙΤΩΛΟΥ,
ο οποίος είχε προ-προπάππο τον ΔΕΥΚΑΛΙΩΝΑ, που είχε επιζήσει του
Κατακλυσμού, (κατακλυσμός τού Δευκαλίωνα).
Άλλα Τραγικά Πρόσωπα του Μύθου, που έχασαν τη ζωή τους
εξαιτίας του Μελέαγρου, η μητέρα του ΑΛΘΑΙΑ, η σύζυγός του ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑ, οι δύο
μικρότερες αδελφές του, ΕΥΡΗΜΗΔΗ και ΜΕΛΑΝΙΠΠΗ, καθώς και οι τέσσερις θείοι του,
αδελφοί τής μητέρας του, πρίγκιπες του βασιλείου τής ΠΛΕΥΡΩΝΑΣ.
Αιτία τής ΤΡΑΓΩΔΙΑΣ, η θεϊκής ομορφιάς κυνηγός ΑΤΑΛΑΝΤΗ, την
οποία ερωτεύτηκε παράφορα ο ήρωας της Καλυδώνας.
Ο Μύθος τού ΜΕΛΕΑΓΡΟΥ ήταν ένας «Τρωϊκός Πόλεμος», σαράντα
με πενήντα χρόνια πριν τον ΤΡΩΪΚΟ ΠΟΛΕΜΟ του ΟΜΗΡΟΥ, όπου καθώς προκύπτει, ο
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ «αντέγραψε» κάποια στοιχεία του όπως: «Αντίστοιχη» της Αταλάντης ηρωίδα,
«έβαλε» την ΩΡΑΙΑ ΕΛΕΝΗ σαν αιτία τού πολέμου τής Τροίας.
Την άρνηση δε του Μελέαγρου
να πολεμήσει εξαιτίας τών κατάρων τής μάνας του, την «βάζει» και αυτός άρνηση
του ΑΧΙΛΛΕΑ να πολεμήσει, εξαιτίας τής διαμάχης του με τον ΑΓΑΜΕΜΝΩΝΑ, για «τα
μάτια» τής ωραίας αιχμάλωτης ΒΡΙΣΗΪΔΑΣ.
Πρέπει να αναφερθεί, ότι την
Τραγωδία «ΜΕΛΕΑΓΡΟΣ», είχαν γράψει και οι Τραγικοί μας ποιητές, ΣΟΦΟΚΛΗΣ, ΕΥΡΥΠΠΙΔΗΣ, ΦΡΥΝΙΧΟΣ και ΑΝΤΙΦΩΝ, που δυστυχώς δεν διασώθηκε καμία.
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PREFACE - INTRODUCTION
This book presents the Myth of Meleagros (Meleager) and the Calydonian Boar hunt since the glorious times of the two neighboring kingdoms of Plevrona and Calydon, when Thestios and his wife Eurythemis were kings of Plevrona and Oeneus (or Oineus) and his wife Althea (or Althaea), the daughter of Thestios, were kings of Calydon. Therefore, there was an old family bond between the two kingdoms of Aetolia that could be traced back many years, since the two cities were founded and named after Plevronas and Calydonas. And that must be a fact. These two men were brothers. Their father was Aetolos and their mother was Pronoi. The great grandfather of Aetolos was Defkalionas, who survived the flood. On the other hand, wine, was named after Oeneus, who, according to the Myth, was the first man, who cultivated grapes and produced wine- oenos. The two kings had many offsprings, sons and daughters, for who we will discuss later as we carry on with our narration. Currently we will only focus on the protagonists, who also triggered off this great conflict and tragedy in the two kingdoms and at the end paid for it with their own lives. The main character of this Myth is Meleager the son of Oeneus and Althea, daughter of Thestios. While powerful and bold like Heracles, Meleagros was spiritually weak, impulsive and careless and also vulnerable to women beauty, for which he would give away everything, resulting to the tragedy of the two kingdoms that follows in our novel. The second character of the tragedy was Meleager’s mother Althea, who kept Meleager's life “in her hands”. According to the prophecy of Moira (Fate), if the fire-brand that was ablaze on the hearth burns up, Meleager will die. When his mother heard that, she grabbed the firebrand and hid it away in a secret urn. Althea (Althaea) as well as the virtuous and innocent wife of Meleager, Cleopatra, the daughter of Idas, Prince of Messinia found tragic death. The death of Meleager also brought about the death of his two younger sisters, who loved him so much that they mourned and grieved inconsolably over his grave, without water or food for days. Tragic figures were also the kings of the two cities, who survived only to be accompanied by their eternal pain, since Thestios didn't only loose his daughter Althea, but also his four sons, who were killed by Altheas son, Meleager, who was his grandson. Last but not least, the source of all evil, Atalanta, a hunter of sublime beauty, who was the Princess of Arkadia and captured Meleager's heart and mind. Atalanta's help in killing the Calydonian Boar was decisive, but she unwittingly caused the wiping out of the two royal families, who lived happily until then, because of her influence on the hero of Calydon, who loved her passionately. Heracles had been in Calydon long before this great tragedy fell upon the two cities. After taming Acheloos River, Heracles asked Oeneus for the hand of his extremely beautiful daughter Deianira. After killing a child, which was related to Oeneus, by accident, Heracles was bind by the Law to leave the city of Calydon, along with his wife Deianira. So he did. At this point, there should be noted that the Myth of Meleager and the Calydonian Boar, became the source of inspiration for many unfortunately lost tragedies of great Greek dramatists, such as Sophocles, Euripides, Phrynichus and Antiphon. Meleager as well as the boar hunt have been vividly portrayed on the bas-reliefs of temples, sarcophagus, statues, vessels and paintings, such as the million euros painting of Rubens "The hunt of the Calydonian Boar", which belongs to a private collection. Being an admirer of the Ancient Greek culture and spirit, I am surprised by the "abysmal talent of our great ancestors and myth writers, who gathered, sorted out and wrote these myths, upon the invention of written speech and therefore helped them "survive" oblivion, constituting today a part of the Worlds Spiritual Legacy. I close this speech, by reminding the prophecy of Moira Atropos about the great Calydonian hero, Meleager: |
«Μελεάργω ού πρότερον τήν τελευτήν συμβηναι, πριν ή, ύπο πυρός άφανισθηναι τόν δαυλόν»
(“If the firebrand that is ablaze on the hearth burns up, Meleager will die”)
“This book is dedicated to all the admirers of the Ancient Greek spirit in every corner of the world"
The Writer
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Πληροφορίες πώλησης
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(Mr Franki)
