Review Detail

Stephanie Spinner has breathed new life into the ancient myth of Atalanta. Atalanta's story was written down by both Ovid and Apollodorus, and passed down orally for many years before they ever bothered to write it down. One of the famous scenes depicted in Spinner's book also appears in the Iliad.

When Atalanta was born, her father was disappointed that she was not a male heir. He abandoned her in the woods and only the intervention of Artemis saved her. A she-bear took care of baby Atalanta until some hunters happened upon her.

Atalanta grew up to be a brave huntress, as well as swifter and stronger than any man. Her true rise to fame came during the Calydonian boar hunt.

It was also there that she met Meleager, the son of King Oeneus. He fell in love with her, even though she had pledged herself to Artemis. That proved to be his undoing, when family jealousy pops up and he is ultimately killed by his mother.

Soon after, Atalanta's father sends for her. He is dying and needs his only heir to wed to continue the family line. Atalanta agrees, but only on two conditions: that the man she marry beat her in a race and that any man who loses, dies.

Atalanta intended the conditions to keep suitors away, but soon they begin to arrive and subsequently die. It ultimately takes an arrow from Eros (Cupid) and three golden apples from his mother, Aphrodite, for a suitor to succeed.

Hippomenes weds Atalanta and they live happily ever after, even after Zeus curses them for defiling his sanctuary.

Interspersed throughout the story are brief conversations between the gods, as they consider Atalanta's fate and meddle in the affairs of mortals. They are some of the most charming parts of the book.

At the end of the book, you'll find some notes from the author about Atalanta and Greek Mythology in general.

This book would fit in well in any classroom studying mythology. I recommend it for general reading pleasure as well; told from Atalanta's view, the story has strength and bluntness. She was, after all, one of the strongest girls ever written about.