User:Y.toadflax/Atalanta

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(translation) meaning "of equal weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology.

There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta, one from Arcadia whose parents were Iasus and Clymene, and is primarily named in the Calydonian Boar Hunt and the Argo; the other from Boeotia who is the daughter of King Schoeneus,  and is primarily noted in the footrace. Regardless of these two versions, the legend remains constant as Atalanta was a local deity akin to the goddess Artemis, as in oral traditions minor characters were assigned different names resulting in minor regional variations.

Early Life
At birth, Atalanta was taken to Mount Parthenion to be exposed because her father had desired a son. After a while, a she-bear, the symbol of Artemis and whose cubs had been recently killed by hunters, came upon Atalanta and nursed her until those same hunters discovered her and raised her themselves in the mountains. Atalanta then grew up to be a swift-footed virgin who was uninterested in men and devoted herself to huntress Artemis.

Atalanta modelled herself after Artemis, wearing a simple sleeveless tunic that reached her knees and lived in the wilderness independent from the world. While living in the wild, Atalanta slew two centaurs, Rhoecus and Hylaios with her bow and arrows after her beauty caught their attention, attempted to rape her.

The Voyage of the Argonauts
Atalanta and the Argonauts is a minor episode in the legend due to a lack of mentions, however, is noted in Pseudo-Apollodorus's account that during the search for the Golden Fleece, Atalanta (who was invited and invoked the protection of Artemis) sailed with the Argonauts as the only woman among them. In Diodorus's account, Atalanta is not only noted to have sailed with the Argonauts but have fought alongside them at the battle in Colchis where she, Jason, Laertes, and the sons of Thesipae were wounded and later healed by Medea. In the case of Apollonius of Rhodes, Jason prevented Atalanta from joining not because of her skill as a huntress but, that she was a woman thus had the potential to cause strife between the men on the ship. After the death of King Pelias in Iolcus, funeral games were held in which a wrestling match would occur between Peleus and Atalanta; Atalanta won the match, which had been a popular subject to depict in Greek art.

The Calydonian Boar Hunt
In an annual celebration, King Oeneus of Calydon had forgotten to honour Artemis with a sacrifice in his rites to the gods. In anger, she sent the Calydonian Boar, a monstrous wild boar that ravaged the land and prevented the crops from being sown, the cattle, and the people. Atalanta was called upon to join Meleager, Theseus, Pollux, Telamon, Peleus, and all those who were part of the Argonaut expedition on the hunt for the boar. Many of the men were angry that a woman was joining them, but Meleager, though having a family of his own, convinced them otherwise as he desired to have a child with Atalanta after hearing of her expertise in archery and sheer beauty while hunting.

During the hunt Hyleus and Ancaeus were killed, Peleus accidentally injured a fellow hunter and others were wounded until Atalanta first stuck the boar, drawing its blood. After this feat, killing the boar became a collective effort as, after the initial blow, Amphiaraus shot the boar’s eye and Meleager ended its life. Meleager awarded the hide to Atalanta for her valour, however, was quickly taken away by Meleager's uncles, Plexippus and Toxeus, who were enraged and thought it was dishonourable for a woman to hold such a prize. In response, Meleager killed his uncles, which was the cause of his death as his mother, Althaea became deeply grief-stricken after hearing of her brothers’ death that she threw the log that was tied to her son’s life into a fire, killing him.

Footrace
According to Ovid, before her adventures, Atalanta had consulted an oracle who gave her a prophecy, that marriage will be her undoing thus, Atalanta chose to live a life in the wilderness. After the Calydonian boar hunt, Atalanta was discovered by her father who had accepted her as his daughter, and began to arrange a marriage for Atalanta. To prevent this, Atalanta agreed to get married if a suitor could outrun her in a footrace and if proven to be unsuccessful, they were killed; a condition that swift-footed Atalanta knew was impossible to achieve. Her father agreed to the terms and many suitors died in the attempt until Hippomenes,  who fell in love with Atalanta immediately upon seeing her. Hippomenes knew he could not best Atalanta even with the advantage of starting ahead, so, prayed to the goddess Aphrodite for her assistance, in which she gave Hippomenes three golden apples, that because of their irresistibility would slow Atalanta enough to win the race. As the race began Atalanta, who was fashioning armour and weapons quickly passed him but was diverted off the path as soon as Hippomenes tossed an apple; so, each time Atalanta passed Hippomenes he tossed the remaining apples, effectively winning the race and Atalanta herself.

Metamorphosis into Lions
After the footrace, Hippomenes had forgotten to thank Aphrodite for her aid that while to two were out hunting the goddess inflicted a sexual passion onto them that they had sex in a sanctuary either belonging to Zeus or Rhea and were subsequently turned into lions for their sacrilege by either Artemis, the goddess Cybele, or Zeus himself. The belief at the time was that lions could not mate with their own species, only with leopards; thus Atalanta and Hippomenes would never be able to have “intercourse of love”.

In between the footrace and the metamorphosis into lions, the couple had a son Parthenopaios, who was a part of the Seven against Thebes.