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Atalanta is one of the few heroines from Greek mythology, whilst there is an even mixture of gods and goddesses, the status of hero is almost always a male domain. Atalanta appears in a number of stories, although with the majority of such tales, there are a number of different versions. The differing versions may indicate two heroines of the same name, though I will presume there is only one.

Atalanta was the daughter of either King Iasus and Clymene, or Schoeneus of Boeotia. The father though desired a son so much that on her birth she was taken into woodland and abandoned to her fate. Instead of death though, Atalanta survives and the goddess, Artemis, sent a female bear to suckle her. A group of hunters eventually find her and raised her as one of their own.

Growing up amongst the hunters, Atalanta soon comes to love the hunt, and begins to compete amongst the males of the group. By the time she reaches womanhood, Atalanta is the best at many of the male preserves, including hunting, running and wrestling. Growing up against men, though also saw Atalanta have no desire for a partner, in fact she received an oracle that her marriage would end in disaster.

As a notable athlete, Atalanta's name appears on some lists of those who travelled with Jason on the Argo. Whilst in some tales, Jason refused Atalanta passage, fearing a woman on board would result in problems, other versions see Atalanta fighting with Jason at the battle of Colchis.

After the quest for the Golden Fleece, Atalanta participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. King Oeneus ordered his son, Meleager, a fellow Argonaut, to round up as many heroes as he could to kill the Boar. During the hunt, Meleager fell in love with Atalanta, and Atalanta fell in love with him, although she refused his marriage proposal. During the hunt Atalanta was also made to defend her virtue, killing two centaurs, Rhoecus and Hylaeus, who had attempted to rape her.

Atalanta was credited in drawing first blood with one of animals during the hunt, although it was Meleager who killed the boar. Rather than keeping the hide of the boar as was his right, Meleager awarded the hide to Atalanta. This caused resentment amongst the other hunters, especially with Meleager's uncles, Toxeus and Plexippus. Meleager killed both of his uncles when the protested about the award of the pelt. This though resulted in more bloodshed, as Meleager's mother killed her son, by throwing an enchanted log into a fire, the log representing

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