Hippomenes- Greek FigureMortal
Also known as: Melanion and Ἱππομένης
Symbols
Description
He won Atalanta's hand by dropping three golden apples during their footrace, gifts from Aphrodite that the swift huntress stopped to gather. He forgot to thank the goddess. She drove both lovers to profane a temple, and they lived out their days as lions.
Mythology & Lore
The Challenge of Atalanta
Atalanta had been warned by an oracle that marriage would ruin her. She set a condition: she would marry only the man who could outrun her, and all losers would die. Many had already perished. Hippomenes came to watch, scornful of men who risked their lives for a woman. Then he saw her run. He entered his name.
The Golden Apples
Hippomenes could not outrun Atalanta by speed alone. He prayed to Aphrodite, and the goddess gave him three golden apples from her sacred grove at Tamasus in Cyprus. She told him to throw them one at a time during the race. Each time an apple rolled off the track, Atalanta stopped to pick it up. She could not help it. Three pauses, three lost steps, and Hippomenes crossed the line first.
The Lions
Hippomenes forgot to thank Aphrodite. The goddess filled both lovers with desire so fierce they profaned a sacred precinct. In Apollodorus, the temple was Zeus's. In Ovid, it was Cybele's, and she turned them into lions and yoked them to her chariot. Lions cannot mate with their own kind. Hippomenes and Atalanta would walk side by side forever and never touch.
Relationships
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