Atalanta

Amy Dougher

Facts about Atalanta

Atalanta is a young, beautiful, and muscular woman.

She represents golden apples and running sandals.

Atalanta’s strengths are running at a fast pace, wrestling, and being loyal to others.

Atalanta’s Childhood

Atalanta’s father, whoever he was, abandoned her in a forest on a mountaintop hoping she would die of cold and starvation because he was disappointed she was not a boy.

In Greek Mythology, animals came off kinder than humans. The Goddess Artemis, sent a she-bear to raise Atalanta. Shortly after, hunters found Atalanta and took care of her like one of their own and turned her into a magnificent hunter.

Artemis, goddess of the wilderness, the

hunt and wild animals, and fertility

Throughout the Years..

One day two strong Centaurs caught sight of Atalanta and tried to capture her. She did not run away from then, instead she stood motionless and shot them with her bow and arrow. Both of the Centaurs were killed by a mortal.

Centaurs are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse

Hunt of the Calydonian Boar

The Calydonian Boar was sent by Artemis to devastate the region of Calydon because King Oeneus failed to honor her in his rites to the gods. This monster damaged the land, destroyed the cattle, and killed the men who tried to kill it. King Oeneaus asked for help from the bravest men of Greece, including Atalanta.

The hunters and one huntress (Atalanta) sailed on the Argo to defeat the beast.

As Atalanta boarded the ship she was simply dressed and somewhat resembling a boy. However, one man found Atalanta lovelier than any other woman. Oeneus’s son, Meleager fell in love instantly. On the other hand, Atalanta had no interest in marrying or falling in love.

Some hunters hated the fact that a woman was hunting with them. However, Meleager changed their minds. This was for the better because Atalanta’s arrow was the first to strike the boar.

Meleager then rushed and stabbed the boar in the heart. Meleager actually killed the boar but he gave the honors and boar skin to Atalanta. This was the cause of his own death.

Meleager’s Death..

When Meleager was just a week old the Fates had appeared to his mother, Althea, and thrown a log of wood into the fire. They said her new-born child would live until the wood turned to ash. She quickly took the wood from the fire and put out the flame, then hid it in a chest.

• Althea’s brothers took part in the boar hunt and were insulted that the honor and prize went to a girl. They confronted Meleager about it and he thought differently. Meleager killed them both. Althea soon heard the news. Some sort of anger took over. She went to the chest and took out the wood and threw it into a fire. As it caught fire, Meleager dropped to the ground dying.

This did not affect Atalanta’s life, it was only the beginning. Some say she sailed with the Argonauts and others say Jason told her not to. The next time we hear of her is when Medea killed Pelias, Jason’s Uncle, under the cause of restoring him to youth. At the funeral games, Atalanta was in the wrestling match and defeated Peleus.

Atalanta’s New Life

Atalanta, then, found out who her real parents were and went to live with them. Plenty of men wanted to marry Atalanta during the meantime. Atalanta declared whoever could beat her in a footrace can marry her.

Atalanta thought noone would be able to outrun her but Melanion had a different plan. With the help of Aphrodite he got possession of three pure gold apples, no one alive could see them or want them.

On the race course Melanion rolled the apples infront of Atalanta and she could not resist them. She caught all three and fell behind.

Atalanta was now Melanion’s. Her days hunting, wrestling, and running were suddenly over.

They are said to have been turned into lions because some affront offered to Zeus.

Before she was transformed into a lion, she gave birth to Parthenopaues, who was one of the Seven against Thebes.

Sources

Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1942.