(Ἀκταίων [Aktaíōn], Latin Actaeon)
A. Myth
A. is the son of Aristaeus and Autonoë, herself daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia. A. is a passionate hunter. The Centaur Chiron has taught him the art of hunting (Apollod. 3,4,4). One day, out hunting as usual on Mount Cithaeron, he is pursued by his own hounds (up to fifty of them: Apollod. 3,4,4; Hyg. Fab. 181; Ov. Met. 3,206–224) and dismembered. Different traditions suggest the reasons for this killing. Some (e.g. Acusilaus in Apollod. 3,4,4) say that A. wooed Semele, the lover of Zeus an…