Atalanta: Would-Be Spinster from Ancient Greece

Atalanta was a very different sort of woman for her time period.  This mythical Greek heroine was athletic, independent, and skilled in boar hunting and other male sports.

When the time came for her to marry, she told her father that she would only marry the man who could beat her in a footrace.  Her intent, of course, was not to marry at all, as no man could run faster than she.

Suitors came from far away to compete for her hand in marriage, even though they understood that by doing so they were risking their lives.  The rules were simple:  win the race and win Atalanta.  Lose the race and lose your life.

Many men died.

One, however, was smart enough to pray for the assistance of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.  Aphrodite gave him three golden apples and each time Atalanta pulled far ahead of him in the race, he would throw one of the apples and she would stop to pick it up, feeling that she was so much faster that picking up the golden fruit wouldn’t matter.

It did.  She lost the race, but gained a husband that she secretly loved and admired.

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