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The Story of Atalanta
Atalanta was born a disappointment to her father. He desperately wanted
a son and when he saw his newborn baby daughter, he became furious and
abandoned her in a forest. Atalanta surely would have died, but she was seen
by a mighty she-bear. The mother bear treated Atalanta like her cub until she
was taken in by a group of female hunters sent by Artemis. Like Artemis, she
vowed never to marry.
Atalanta grew up hunting and running. She was soon known as an expert
huntress and the fastest runner in Greece. She wanted to join Jason on the
Argo, but he would not allow a woman to be on his crew.
In the kingdom of Calydonia, a fierce boar was ravaging the people and
the land. No one could kill or capture the boar. Meleager, the prince of
Calydonia, sent for all the great heroes to try their hand, including the crew of the
Argo. Atalanta answered the call.
At first, no one wanted Atalanta on the hunting party. They did not think a
woman could be helpful. Only Meleager stood up for her. He ruled that a girl
who could outrun all of them surely deserved to join the chase.
When they found the boar, spears flew like crazy. Only Atalanta kept her
cool head. When the dust settled, seven men had been killed by the other’s
spears. Atalanta shot the arrow that slowed the beast enough for Meleager to kill
it with his spear.
Meleager offered the hide and the tusks to Atalanta. These trophies were
hers, he said, for it was she who stopped the boar. Again the men protested,
because it hurt their pride to see a girl walk off with the trophies.
When Atalanta returned home to her father, he had heard tales of her
glory and saw her trophies. She made him proud, and he accepted her again as
his daughter. Now that she was a king’s daughter, she could not be allowed to
run about unmarried. Atalanta did not want a husband, so she cleverly set a
challenge. Any suitor who wanted to marry her would have to race her. If he
won, she would marry him. If she won, she gets to kill him. Many lost their lives
this way.
One day a prince named Melanion decided to try to race Atalanta. He
knew he would lose, so he asked Aphrodite for help. The goddess of love
wanted to see all pretty girls married, so she helped him. She gave him three
golden apples to throw each time Atalanta pulled ahead. These would distract
her and he would have time to catch up. It worked and soon they were married.
Atalanta loved her clever husband dearly and they never forgot to honor
Aphrodite for bringing them together.
Name:
Atalanta Questions
1. Describe Atalanta’s personality. How is she different from most women we
read about in Greek mythology?
2. How did you feel about the ending of this myth? Were you happy?
Frustrated? Why?
3. Compare Atalanta to Medea.
Medea was severely punished because of what she did for love.
Atalanta’s story ended happily, but only after she is “proven” to be second-best to
a man.
What do you think about this situation? What lesson should Greek women learn
from these two stories?
Keeping in mind all of the stories we have read, do you think the Gods are fair?
Why or why not?