Atalanta

Raised by a bear

Atalanta’s father wanted a son and left his baby daughter on a mountainside to die. A she-bear sent by Artemis nursed her, and hunters later raised her. She grew up devoted to Artemis, determined never to marry, and became the best hunter and the fastest runner in Greece.

The Calydonian boar

When Artemis sent a monstrous boar to ravage Calydon, the greatest heroes gathered to hunt it. Several resented hunting alongside a woman, but it was Atalanta’s arrow that drew first blood before Meleager killed the beast. He awarded her the hide, sparking a deadly quarrel. In some versions she also sailed with the Argonauts, and she famously beat the hero Peleus in a wrestling match at funeral games.

The golden apples

Pressed to marry, Atalanta agreed to wed only the man who could beat her in a footrace, and those who lost would die. Many failed before Hippomenes, also called Melanion, prayed to Aphrodite, who gave him three golden apples. Each time Atalanta drew ahead, he rolled an apple aside, and she stopped to pick it up. He won the race and her hand. Later the couple offended the gods and were turned into lions.