An exception to this pattern is Atalanta, a character who fights like a man, is involved in no subtle plots, and has forsworn sex. It is when she is finally tricked into marriage that her fate overtakes her.
There are not many warrior women in the Greek myths, with the notable exception of the tribe of Amazons encountered by Jason and his Argonauts, the latter including Atalanta among their number. This in itself makes her story an interesting one.
As with most Greek myths, there are conflicting details that occur as a result of different sources saying different things. The oral tradition of stories being passed down the generations, eventually being written down by a number of writers in different places and at various times, is bound to lead to variant accounts. In the case of Atalanta, two different regional traditions included her story, namely those of Arcadia and Boeotia, and these stories, although clearly referring to the same character, have a number of differences. The myth of Atalanta can therefore be pieced together by combining these accounts.
Childhood and upbringing
Her father Iasus (or Schoenus in the Boeotian version), was unhappy to have fathered a girl and had the child left on a mountain slope in the expectation that it would die. This practice is familiar throughout the Greek myths, and almost invariably the baby is rescued by a passing shepherd, bear or wolf and survives to adulthood, often much to the surprise of the original parent. In Atalanta’s case it was a she-bear who became her foster mother, and she grew up to be strong and healthy because she was then found by a group of hunters who taught her the skills of hunting.
The mountain in question was Mount Parthenius, which was sacred to Artemis, the virgin huntress goddess. It was Artemis who sent the bear to rescue Atalanta, and in return Atalanta forswore men and determined to remain a virgin. Her protection by Artemis continued; on one occasion she almost died of thirst but, on striking a rock with her spear and calling on the goddess, a spring burst out and saved her.
The Argonauts
Atalanta’s reputation as a fearless huntress was enough for her to be chosen as the only female crew member of the Argo, captained by Jason in the quest for the golden fleece. Accounts of that adventure make little mention of her, except that she was one of those wounded as Jason and his companions escaped with the fleece to their ship at the mid-point of the story. She was healed by the magical medicines supplied by Medea, the king’s daughter who had now agreed to help Jason.
The Calydonian boar
Atalanta also took part in the quest that followed that for the golden fleece, namely the hunting of the Calydonian boar, which had been sent by Artemis to ravage the countryside of Calydon after an oversight, in terms of sacrifices offered, by Oeneus, the king of Calydon.
Although Atalanta’s presence on board the Argo had caused no problems, it did so now because several members of the hunting party objected that having a woman among their number would bring bad luck. The king’s son, Meleager, declared that if they did not back down, the hunt would not take place. His main reason for taking this line was that he fancied Atalanta for himself, despite already being married.
Atalanta was armed with a bow and arrows, which she first used to shoot dead two centaurs which tried to ravish her. She was also successful in inflicting the first wound on the boar, which was finally killed by Meleager.
The original deal had been that whoever killed the boar should be presented with its pelt and tusks, and Meleager proposed that Atalanta should be so honoured, as she had drawn first blood. However, this led to objections that in turn led to much greater violence, but that is definitely another story!
Avoiding marriage
Atalanta’s success led to her being accepted back home by her father, but he was determined to see her safely married, which was not what she wanted, especially as the Delphic Oracle had warned her against marriage. As she was exceptionally fleet of foot, she offered a deal along the lines that any man who could beat her in a race could marry her. There was a catch, though, in that she claimed the right to kill anyone who failed the test.
Many suitors tried playing this highly dangerous game, which might sound surprising given that the later contenders would have known full well what had happened to their predecessors, but that is typical of myths and folk tales! The men would be given a head start and be allowed to run unencumbered by clothes, which was normal practice in ancient Greek athletics. Atalanta, however, ran fully clothed and carried a spear. Every time she would overtake her opponent and thrust her spear into him as she did so.
There was a successful applicant, but he only won by cheating. Melanion (or Hippomenes in some versions) called on divine assistance in the person of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. She gave him three golden apples, which he was instructed to drop, one at a time, during the course of the race. Atalanta stopped each time to pick them up, which was just enough delay to enable Melanion to win the race. This is therefore a version of the “Tortoise and the Hare” fable that is ascribed to Aesop. (The picture attached to this article is based on this story)
Atalanta was therefore obliged to marry Melanion, but the Delphic prophecy proved true in the end. Not long after they were married, Melanion persuaded her to make love in a place that was sacred to Zeus. As their punishment, Zeus changed them both into lions. The reasoning behind this was the strange belief that lions cannot mate with each other, but only with leopards, the error being possibly because, at a distance, a lioness might be mistaken for a leopard, unlikely though that might sound. The couple would then have been fated to remain together for ever but unable to mate.
One version of the story has it that it was Cybele, the “Earth Mother”, whose precinct was defiled and who had the couple turned into lions to draw her chariot.
There is also a story that Atalanta was not as virginal as she pretended, and had actually had a child by Meleager. This was Parthenopaeus, who was abandoned by his mother at the same place that she had been, and with a similar result in that he was rescued by shepherds and survived to become one of the “Seven against Thebes” in the Oedipus story.
Messages in the Atalanta myths
One can read several messages in the Atalanta story. One is that male story-tellers cannot abide the idea that a woman could really wish to remain a virgin, and will eventually succumb to her natural urges. When she does so, as in the Atalanta story, she suffers no ill consequences for that reason but only for the sin of offending a sacred place.
Another reading could be a sexist one, in that a woman’s high principles can be overcome by dangling something bright and shiny in front of her. This is a similar theme to one that runs through the literatures of many nations, namely that women are inconstant and fickle, whereas men are made of sterner stuff and are more trustworthy.
This is, as mentioned above, a highly sexist conclusion to draw, and the current writer has no intention of endorsing such thoughts!
© John
Welford
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