In some, she isn’t mentioned as part of the Argonaut legend at all in others, she is the daughter of the King of Boeotia rather than Arcadia. I say ‘often’ because, as with many Greek myths, there are different versions of Atalanta’s story. I won’t go into all the details of the myth here, but Saint incorporates most of the elements that are often associated with Atalanta: the Calydonian boar hunt, her relationship with the Argonaut Meleager, the footrace and the golden apples. With the blessing of Artemis, Atalanta joins the quest, but it won’t be easy to persuade Jason and his men to accept her as a fellow Argonaut. Elsewhere, Jason is preparing to set out aboard the Argo on his mission to obtain the Golden Fleece from the King of Colchis. As she reaches adulthood, it is clear that Atalanta possesses special skills in hunting, shooting and running.

Rescued by bears and raised along with their cubs, Atalanta grows up under the watchful eye of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, who later takes her to live amongst the nymphs in the forest. Like the others, it explores the life of a woman from Greek mythology, in this case Atalanta, famous as a hunter, a runner and the only female Argonaut.ĭaughter of the King of Arcadia, the baby Atalanta is left to die on a mountain because her father had hoped for a son. Having enjoyed Jennifer Saint’s first two novels, Ariadne and Elektra, I was looking forward to reading her third one, Atalanta.

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