Hippomenes. In Greek mythology, Hippomenes, also known as Melanion, was a son of the Arcadian Amphidamas or of Megareus of Onchestus and the husband of Atalanta.
He was known to have been one of the disciples of Chiron, and to have surpassed other disciples in his eagerness to undertake hard challenges. Inscriptions mention him as one of the Calydonian hunters.
The main myth of Hippomenes' courtship of Atalanta, narrated by Pseudo-Apollodorus, Ovid, Servius, and Hyginus was as follows. Hippomenes fell in love with Atalanta, the virgin huntress who strongly disliked the idea of getting married.
After a warning from an oracle about getting married, she declared that whoever wanted to marry her was to beat her in a footrace, and that those who should try and lose would be punished by instant death.Another version was that her father wanted her to be married, but she did not. She agreed to running races against her suitors because she thought she would never lose.
Atalanta raced all her suitors and outran all but Hippomenes, who defeated her by cunning, not speed. Hippomenes knew that he could not win a fair race with Atalanta, so he prayed to Aphrodite for help. Aphrodite gave him three golden apples-which came from her sacred apple-tree in Tamasus, Cyprus, according to Ovid, or from the garden of the Hesperides according to Servius-and told him to drop them one at a time to distract Atalanta
He was known to have been one of the disciples of Chiron, and to have surpassed other disciples in his eagerness to undertake hard challenges. Inscriptions mention him as one of the Calydonian hunters.
The main myth of Hippomenes' courtship of Atalanta, narrated by Pseudo-Apollodorus, Ovid, Servius, and Hyginus was as follows. Hippomenes fell in love with Atalanta, the virgin huntress who strongly disliked the idea of getting married.
After a warning from an oracle about getting married, she declared that whoever wanted to marry her was to beat her in a footrace, and that those who should try and lose would be punished by instant death.Another version was that her father wanted her to be married, but she did not. She agreed to running races against her suitors because she thought she would never lose.
Atalanta raced all her suitors and outran all but Hippomenes, who defeated her by cunning, not speed. Hippomenes knew that he could not win a fair race with Atalanta, so he prayed to Aphrodite for help. Aphrodite gave him three golden apples-which came from her sacred apple-tree in Tamasus, Cyprus, according to Ovid, or from the garden of the Hesperides according to Servius-and told him to drop them one at a time to distract Atalanta
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