The Boar Hunt, or Act III

In the previous act, Atalanta challenged Meleager and Euri. to a boar hunt.  Everybody gathers at Meleager's home for this epic event.  Meleager's uncle and brother join the hunt, as well as two other men who live nearby.  Atalanta dresses up as a man for the event.  Once everything is ready, the group goes into the woods to hunt the giant boar living there.  They split into groups, and Atalanta and Meleager are the first ones to find the boar.  Atalanta draws first blood, seriously wounding the boar.  Around this time the others barge into the clearing, and the boar is confused.  Eventually it heads for Meleager, who just manages to deal the death blow.  The group skins and cleans the hide, and strip the meat from the carcass.  They bring the remains back to Meleager's, and the servants cook the meat and prepare a feast for that evening. At the feast, Meleager is awarded the skin as prize for killing the beast; however, he feels that Atalanta deserves the victory more than him, and so he gives her the skin.  She then reveals herself to be a girl, and everybody is shocked. Kleopatra returned during the time of the hunt, and when she realizes that Meleager has awarded the skin to a girl, and sees the way he looks at her, she becomes jealous.  The act ends with her speaking to her uncle and brother-in-law, riling them up against Atalanta.