Actaeon was known as a great hunter, his talent with the bow was partially inherited from his noble and divine lineage, the young man was the grandson of the god apollo known for his remarkable accuracy. The tutor of Actaeon was the famous Centaur (half man and half horse) Chiron, who raised Actaeon to become a great hunter. Whenever he went hunting with his friends, the boy would often move away because his companions were always too noisy which kept the prey away.
Once, the hunter heard the noise of a spring and due to the heat of the summer Actaeon sought out the source of the sound, to be able to quench his thirst. However, he did not know that the goddess Artemis and her nymphs-nature spirits were bathing in the spring. The goddess, who was known for her virginity and purity and who prided herself on never being seen naked by any man, while Artemis bathed in the fountain, the nymphs admired her splendorous beauty. When Actaeon approached the fountain, he saw the beautiful nymphs refreshing themselves in the waters and so the hunter hid and enjoyed the beautiful scenery, however one of the nymphs saw him and alerted all the others and so all the other nymphs ran to protect Artemis's nakedness, but it was already too late. Actaeon's eyes shown as he contemplated and pondered about the perfection of the goddess's body, enraged by this, Artemis punished the young snooper who dared to desecrate the goddess's body with his gaze.
The goddess splashed water on Actaeon's face and immediately, on the young man's head, a pair of horns began to grow, he was scared and so he ran away, as he was running away, a dark fur began to grow all over Actaeon's body, and the young man also realized that he could run faster than usual. He tried to cream for help but the only sounds that came out of his mouth were sounds similar to the bellow of an animal. Actaeon had become a beautiful deer, but the worst part was yet to come, his desperate howls caught the attention of his hunting friends who chased him to kill him.
The hunters ironically released Actaeon's own dogs so that they could capture this animal that appeared so magnificent. The young man now turned deer tried as much as possible to get away from his own pack and so one of the best hunters in the world had become the most desired prey. Exhausted and unable to run any further, Actaeon was attacked by his dogs, suffocated and then torn apart and just before his death came, Actaeon saw his friends approaching saying: "It's such a pity that Actaeon isn't here to see this, this is the most beautiful of all trophies" and hence proceeded to kill their dear friend without even realizing it