Atalanta was a famous huntress and runner and the only woman who was allowed to sail with Jason the Argonauts.
Atalante and Meleager by Peter Paul Rubens
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According to the Greek writer Apollodorus, Atalanta was a famous hunter and runner of Arcadia, in Peloponnese, and the only woman who sailed with Jason the Argonauts.
When Atalanta was born, her father, because he desired male children, abandoned her on Mt Parthenio, in Peloponnese, near the entrance of a cave to be devoured by the beasts.
Artemis, however, the goddess of the hunt, felt pity for the little girl and sent a she-bear to the child to suckle, until one day she was discovered by a group of hunters who brought her among themselves. Close to the them, Atalanta learned all the secrets of hunting.
When Atalanta reached adulthood, she still preserved her virginity and was afraid of marriage. so she spend her days hunting in the wilderness. One time, the frightful Centaurs Rhoicos and Hylaios tried to rape her, but Atalanta shot them down with her arrows and killed them.
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Greek pronunciation
English pronunciation