Bulfinch’s Mythology · Chapter
Atalanta explained
Atalanta, a maiden who fled from marriage due to a prophecy, challenges suitors to a race where losers face death.
What happens
Atalanta, a maiden who fled from marriage due to a prophecy, challenges suitors to a race where losers face death. Hippomenes, aided by Venus's golden apples, wins the race and marries her. Their ingratitude to Venus leads to their transformation into lions by Cybele.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because it presents the emotional peak of Tristram’s brief reunion with…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Love and Transformation
The love between Atalanta and Hippomenes leads to their transformation into lions as punishment for ingratitude.
- Hubris and Divine Retribution
The couple's forgetfulness to honor Venus results in divine punishment through Cybele.
Characters to notice
- Atalanta
The maiden who imposes a deadly race on suitors, eventually defeated by Hippomenes.
- Hippomenes
The youth who wins Atalanta's hand with Venus's golden apples.
- Venus
Goddess who aids Hippomenes with golden apples but later punishes the couple for ingratitude.
- Cybele
Goddess who transforms Atalanta and Hippomenes into lions for offending her.
Key passages
“Atalanta, do not marry; marriage will be your ruin.”
A prophecy warns Atalanta that marriage will bring her destruction.
The oracle's warning sets the stage for Atalanta's avoidance of marriage.
“I will be the prize of him who shall conquer me in the race; but death must be the penalty of all who try and fail.”
Atalanta offers herself as a prize to anyone who can outrun her, but losers face execution.
The harsh condition she imposes on suitors.
“Help me, Venus, for you have led me on.”
Hippomenes prays to Venus for assistance in the race.
His plea for divine aid.
“She took from them their human form and turned them into animals of characters resembling their own: of the huntress-heroine, triumphing in the blood of her lovers, she made a lioness, and of her lord and master a lion.”
Cybele transforms Atalanta and Hippomenes into a lioness and lion, reflecting their former natures.
The punishment for their ingratitude to Venus.
