Hippomenes
Boeotian prince who won Atalanta's hand and was turned into a lion.
Hippomenes is a Boeotian prince, the son of Megareus, who married the swift runner Atalanta after defeating her in a footrace with divine aid. He is notable for his role in the myth of Atalanta's race and for the couple's subsequent transformation into lions.
Quick Facts
- Parents
- Megareus
- Spouse
- Atalanta
- Region
- Boeotia
- Divine helper
- Aphrodite
- Transformation into
- lions
Facts from the source article.
Mythology
Hippomenes entered the footrace against Atalanta, who had killed many suitors after overtaking them. He initially dismissed the men who had died for a chance at marriage, but upon seeing Atalanta race nude, he was overcome with desire and insisted on competing despite her advice to leave. Aphrodite gave him three golden apples from Cyprus or the garden of the Hesperides. During the race, Hippomenes dropped the apples one by one; Atalanta paused to retrieve each, and on the third apple Aphrodite made it heavier, ensuring Atalanta's delay. Hippomenes won and married Atalanta. He later failed to thank Aphrodite properly, so she inspired the couple with lust while they passed a precinct sacred to Zeus or Cybele. They had sex on the holy ground, and the offended deity transformed them both into lions. In the Cybele version, the goddess yoked them to her chariot. Nonnus attributes the transformation to Artemis.
Interpretation
A scholiast notes that Hesiod presented Hippomenes racing naked. Some versions describe a simple race with apples thrown forward and to the side, while others depict a mock-hunt where Atalanta chases the suitor, possibly the version in the Catalogue. Hippomenes belongs to the Boeotian branch of Atalanta's mythos, distinct from the Arcadian branch where her husband is Melanion. The two figures have been conflated; the oldest lion metamorphosis involves Melanion, while Apollodorus first gave Melanion the footrace myth. In the Arcadian version, Melanion wins Atalanta through devotion and hunting. Theocritus has Atalanta fall for Hippomenes after her defeat, while Ovid shows her attracted before the race. Footraces were part of nuptial rites, and the race motif parallels hunting, with Atalanta as the hunter until she yields to marriage.
More in Metamorphoses Into Animals in Greek Mythology
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