Actaeon

Remember when Homer compared her to Artemis just now? Well, there was a story about Artemis.

And once upon a time, a hunter named Actaeon stumbled upon her bathing with her nymph companions, and he had a little look, just a peep.

Artemis noticed.

She changed him into a deer, and his hunting dogs turned on him and devoured him alive.

The Wisdom of the Ancients, a series of mythological fables by Francis Bacon.

Actaeon and Pentheus were a curious man, explained of curiosity or prying into the secrets of princes and divine mysteries.

the ancients afford us two examples for suppressing the impertinent curiosity of mankind in diving into secrets and in prudently longing and endeavoring to discover them the one of these is in the person of actaeon and the other in that of pentheus actaeon undesignedly chancing to see diana naked was turned into a stag and torn to pieces by his own hounds and Pentheus, desiring to pry into the hidden mysteries of Bacchus's sacrifice, and climbing a tree for that purpose, was struck with a frenzy.

This frenzy of Pentheus caused him to see things double, particularly the sun and his own city, Thebes, so that running homewards, and immediately espying another Thebes, he runs towards that, and thus continues incessantly, tending first to the one, and then to the other, without coming at either." explanation the first of these fables may relate to the secrets of princes and the second to divine mysteries for they who are not intimate with a prince yet against his will have a knowledge of his secrets inevitably incur his displeasure and therefore being aware that they are singled out and all opportunities watched against them they lead the life of a stag full of fears and suspicions it likewise frequently happens that their servants and domestics accuse them and plot their overthrow in order to procure favor with the prince for whenever the king manifests his displeasure the person it falls upon must expect his servants to betray him and worry him down as actaeon was worried by his own dogs the punishment of pentheus is of another kind for they who unmindful of their mortal state rashly aspire to divine mysteries by climbing the heights of nature and philosophy here represented by climbing a tree their fate is perpetual inconstancy perplexity and instability of judgment for as there is one light of nature and another light that is divine they see as it were two suns and as the actions of life and the determinations of the will depend upon the understanding they are distracted as much in opinion as in will and therefore judge very inconsistently or contradictorily and see as it were thebes double for thebes being the refuge and habitation of pentheus here denotes the ends of actions whence they know not what course to take, but remaining undetermined and unresolved in their views and designs, they are merely driven about by every sudden gust and impulse of the mind.

With liver burning hot.

Prevent, or go thou, like Sir Actaeon he, with ringwood at thy heels.

O, odious is the name.

What name, sir?

And Falstaff's boy with her.

Good plots, they are laid, and our revolted wives share damnation together.

Well, I will take him, then torture my wife, pluck the borrowed veil of modesty from the so seeming Mistress Page, divulge Page himself from a secure and willful Actaeon, and to these violent proceedings all my neighbors shall cry aim.

Clock heard.

On a certain day, when she and her maidens were enjoying the refreshing coolness of the water, they heard a slight rustle among the trees and, looking around, perceived a young hunter watching them.

This was Actaeon, who had himself been following the deer since daybreak and had been drawn to this spot by the noise of running water.

As he neared the stream, he heard sounds of girlish laughter, and this so roused his curiosity that he hastily put aside the branches to see who the merrymakers might be.

Great was his dismay when he recognized Diana and her nymphs, but before he could disappear among the bushes, the goddess saw him, and catching up some water in her hand, she threw it into his face, crying, Go now if you can, and say that you have seen Diana at her bath.

The moment these words were spoken, Actaeon felt a queer change come over him, and he stared in horror at his hands and feet, which were becoming hooves, and at his skin, which was rapidly changing into a deer's hide.

Antlers grew out of his head.

He dropped on all fours and found himself turned into a stag.

So was Diana avenged.

episode.Lyssa, whose name derives from a word meaning wolf, is sometimes depicted as taking vengeance on deities by inflicting insanity upon them.

She is also credited with punishing Actaeon, who had been turned into a stag for spying on the goddess Artemis, by infecting his dogs with rabies so they ripped him to bits.

That's the rabies connection.

Obviously, rabies was not a term [laughs] when this goddess of rage or madness came about, but, uh, there was an understanding that you could be bit by an animal and go mad.

Love my wife? With liver burning hot.

Prevent, or go thou, like Sir Actaeon he, with ringwood at thy heels.

Oh, odious is the name.

What name, sir? The horn, I say.