Atalanta (ätəlăn`tə), in Greek mythology, huntress famous for her speed and skill. She took part in the Calydonian hunt and was rewarded by Meleager with the pelt of the boar. Later, warned by an oracle not to marry, she demanded that each suitor run a race with her, on the condition that the winner would marry her and the losers would die. Hippomenes won the race by dropping three golden apples which Atalanta stopped to retrieve. Later, because Hippomenes and Atalanta made love in a temple sacred to Cybele, they were turned into lions and yoked to Cybele's chariot. Another version of the legend makes Milanion Atalanta's successful suitor.
In Greek mythology, a swift-footed huntress. Born in Boeotia or Arcadia, she was left to die at birth but was suckled by a bear. As an adult she took part in the famous Calydonian boar hunt and drew first blood. She offered to marry any man who could outrun her in a race, but the losers were required to pay with their lives. One contestant, Hippomenes (or Milanion), obtained three golden apples from Aphrodite to carry in the race. As he dropped them, Atalanta stooped to pick them up, and thus lost the race. The two were later turned into lions after they desecrated a shrine to Cybele or Zeus.
Atalanta
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Atalanta, Greek marble statue; in the Louvre
(credit: Giraudon/Art Resource, New York)
Atalanta
feminine name denotes power of endurance. [Gk. Myth.: Jobes, 148]
See : Endurance
Atalanta
famous huntress; slew the Centaurs. [Gk. Myth.: Leach, 87]
See : Hunting
Atalanta
heroine; fleet of foot; defeated by trickery. [Gk. Myth.: Walsh Classical, 36–37; Br. Lit.: Atalanta]
See : Swiftness
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