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Title: Atalanta's Race : A Greek Myth by Alexander Koshkin ISBN: 0-395-67322-4 Publisher: Clarion Books Pub. Date: 24 April, 1995 Format: School & Library Binding Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00

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Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)

Rating: 4
Summary: The story of the greatest heroine of classical mythology
Comment: In classical mythology the figure of Atalanta stands alone as the mortal woman who could hold her own with almost any mortal man. Shirley Climo retells the ancient story of how King Iasus of Arcadia prayed to Zeus for a son to inherit his throne. When a daughter, Atalanta, was born instead he ordered the infant to be abandoned on a mountain. The baby was saved from death, first by a mother bear and then by a hunter. On the side of the mountain Atalanta learned to run swifter than the stags and was almost as good with a bow as the goddess Artemis.

Climo does not tell of Atalanta's participation in the famous Calydonian boar hunt spoken of in the "Iliad," although we do hear of her prowess at the Olympic games (there is an author's note at the end talking about the Olympic games as well). Instead Climo focuses on the story of Atalanta and the golden apples. Restored to her place as the princess of Arcadia, Atalanta is ordered to marry a suitor but she will do so only on her own terms: she will marry any man that can beat her in a footrace, while the penalty for losing to her will be death. Atalanta defeats all those who dare to race her until a young Greek warrior named Melanion accepts the challenge. He is aided by the goddess Aphrodite, who things Atalanta needs to be taught a lesson about the power of love. The goddess gives Melanion three golden apples and tells him how to use them to win the race.

"Atalanta's Race" is illustrated by Alexander Koshkin, who manages to evoke a sense of the ancient frescoes from which we have taken many images of the classical myths. Atalanta is an important figure in mythology because she is obviously the one mortal women with whom most young female readers are going to be able to identify, more so than Antigone or Electra. Certainly the young students who read this book are not going to be interested in hearing the stories about Clytemnestra or Medea. The main thing is that "Atalanta's Race" will certainly achieve the goal of making mythology fascinating to young female readers.

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