The birth of Atalanta daughter to King Iasus and Clymene begins our tale
But
she was born into the world in the undesirable state of being female
Because
of his yearning for a son and his disappointment with a daughter
He
had her taken to the woods and left exposed somewhere in Arcadia
But
for the fates intervention this could have been the end for her there
But
they made it possible for the infant to be found by a passing mother bear
The
gentle mother bear suckled young Atalanta until she became strong
Then
the bear left her in a place where she knew hunters would come along
The
hunters brought her up and as she grew older, she hunted with them
She
spent most of her time hunting and she was soon the best amongst them
As
Atalanta grew in stature as a hunter, she also grew up into a rare beauty
But
she had no interest in men or marriage, so she chose to keep her virginity
As
well as skill and beauty, she could out wrestle men and was hard to catch
For
example, she beat Peleus who was to father Achilles in a wrestling match
And
when two centaurs Rhoecus and Hylaeus attempted to rape Atalanta
She
quickly killed them with her bow and arrows as she’d learned as a hunter
At
the Calydonian Boar Hunt she drew first blood with an arrow from her bow
It
was prince Meleager of Calydon however who delivered the mortal blow
He
was so infatuated with her that he gave her the trophy of the boar’s skin
And
such a row ensued it resulted in the death of Meleager and his mother’s kin
She
loved hunting and the outdoors and had no use for a man in her life
And
she felt she had more to offer the world than she would as a wife
Her
reputation grew as a great warrior and especially her skill with a bow
Atalanta
was so well respected she even sailed with Jason aboard the Argo
She
did enough in the world that her Father forgave her for not being a son
On
returning home however her remaining a virgin was the only condition
Iasus
agreed, but because of her great beauty suitors soon came knocking
And
so the king soon changed his mind but Atalanta continued blocking
She
finally consented to wed any man who could beat her at a foot race
Such
was her fleetness that she was confident she’d finish in first place
As
she was one of the fastest mortals her maidenhood this appeared to insure
As
an additional deterrent the losing suitor would be beheaded by Atalanta
Atalanta
laughed confidently because she knew no man would ever beat her
Also,
she knew the many executions would deter all but the most ardent suitor
The
heads of the failed suitors stacked up and of course still they came to race
The
vain, the arrogant, the brave but mostly the fool hardy lost the chase
Then
one day a man came named Hippomenes and he was exceptionally smart
He
knew he wasn’t fast enough, but he fell in love with Atalanta from the start
Knowing
he wasn’t fast enough to win he did what all frustrated lovers do
He
prayed to the goddess of love Aphrodite for help with how he should woo
Aphrodite
had a weakness for lovers and an intense dislike of virgins in general
So
the goddess gladly gave him three Golden Apples which were irresistible
Along
with the golden apples Aphrodite presented Hippomenes with a plan
In
return Hippomenes was to sacrifice to Aphrodite when he was a married man
Hippomenes
stood on the start next to the woman he loved holding the apples
Atalanta
just sighed that such a good-looking man would die like the other fools
Pausing
to give just one last prayer to Aphrodite and then the race had begun
He
got off to a good start and apart from being intelligent he could also run
Soon
Atalanta sped ahead of him, so he threw the first of his golden apples
Slightly
ahead of Atalanta and slightly off the track she found it irresistible
As
soon as Atalanta saw it, she desired it and had to stop to pick up the fruit
Hippomenes
passed her with delight, praying to Aphrodite along the route
But
Atalanta soon caught him, and two-thirds of the way passed him again
This
time Hippomenes through his Golden Apple deeper in the wooded terrain
As
soon as Atalanta saw it she desired it and had to stop to pick up the fruit
Hippomenes
passed her with delight again and still praying along the route
But
Atalanta again caught him within sight of the finish line and passed by
This
time Hippomenes through his Golden Apple ahead of her quite high
As
soon as Atalanta saw it she desired it and had to stop to pick up the fruit
Hippomenes
passed her with delight the crossed the finish line to win his suit
Despite
her resistance once it was won marriage seemed to suit Atalanta.
And
Hippomenes happiness and joy was so great he was devoted to her
Then
one day he completely forgot his obligations to sacrifice to Aphrodite
When
offending the Gods the punishment was severe and vengeance mighty
Aphrodite
waited until Hippomenes and Atalanta were passing Zeus’s temple
Aphrodite
sent flaming desire coursing through the veins of the young couple
The
pair then lay together in Zeus' holy temple and they spent their passions
Zeus
was horrified at the profanation and turned the young couple into lions
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