They say that after being locked up with his family all that time
Orestheus the son of Deukalion had a powerful longing to set out and explore the world,
taking with him only a sackful of possessions and his trusty hound, the well-bred bitch Leaena.
He wandered through the long, hot summer months
and finally settled in Aetolia, worried by his companion’s sudden turn for the worse
– all she’d do was lay on her side, panting and whimpering
and staring at him with her sad, uncomprehending eyes.
Several months back she’d begun to swell and behave strangely,
but this was altogether different.
She couldn’t go on, and Orestheus feared
that dawn would find him utterly alone in this world.
He did what he could to comfort the suffering creature,
and then prayed to Artemis the keeper of animals to keep his dog safe.
Artemis heard the man’s pious words and nodded her gleaming head,
sending a rustle through the trees, and Eileithyia to ease the pangs of birth.
And lo, before Orestheus’ startled eyes Leaena was delivered of the cause of her affliction
– a gnarled stick came tumbling out of her.
Orestheus picked it up, examined it closely
for he had never set eyes on that kind of wood before,
and then buried hurredly the marvel in the earth,
never to be seen again for the harm it had caused.
Orestheus set about building the fortifications of a city,
and slowly over the winter months others came to live with him.
After he settled a dispute between two neighbors
the whole community unanimously proclaimed him their King.
At the announcement the stick broke through the soil, spilling over with ripe fruit.
Bunches of grapes, in fact, for the stick had been a piece of vinewood.
Orestheus didn’t have to have his grandfather’s foresight to recognize the miracle for what it was,
especially since the epiphany occurred on the very same day
as when his family had been saved from the flood,
and so he founded the Anthesteria as a remembrance.
In time the people came to be known as Ozolian Locrians
for it was among them that branches of vine first showed themselves to man.
If a God can grow in a dog’s womb, what wonders may come to fill your life?
Especially during Anthesteria!
