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Stories / Stories / Glo ´the Bug´ Bowden / Text 1 of 32 / Atalanta and Hippomenes

"Atalanta and Hippomenes" by Glo ´the Bug´ Bowden

SF&F Picture 1 out of 32 by Glo ´the Bug´ Bowden

Just a brief synopsis of the story of Atalanta and Hippomenes for those of you who are a bit rusty in the Greek myths; Atalanta was the fleet-footed follower of Diane who refused to marry any man who couldn't beat her in a race -- and it seemed that no one ever would. That is, until clever Hippomenes showed up and decided to start throwing apples at her during their race. His purpose was not to trip her, (though that might have worked too) these were golden apples -- and I don't mean that figuratively! Now, who wouldn't stop for apples made of pure gold? To make a long story short (too late) Atalanta stopped to pick them up, and so Hippomenes beat her.

This is a poem that I wrote for a diversity project in English class. This poem specifically was to be on diversity in gender, and I illustrated it in photoshop. If you're interested in seeing the illustration it is in my art gallery.

Once upon a time,
A certain maiden's heart
Could by no means be won
By clever Cupid's art.
So when her many suitors came,
She'd spit in every face,
Unless they had the courage and speed
To beat her in a race.

Hippomenes tried his best
To outrun her fair and square -
Unfortunately for him
He didn't have a prayer,
For every god in heaven
Seemed to be on her side -
Hermes, Diana, Zeus,
And Athena the grey-eyed.

So he took to clever means
To beat her in her game
And with some golden apples
Took a careful aim.
Sadly it would take Hippomenes
Much more to seduce
Atalanta from her goal
Than glitzy gold produce.

Frustrated but not fully daunted,
Brave Hippomenes formed a plan
To win fair Atalanta's heart
And foil the Huntress Diane.
A grin spread across his face
As he thought of an infallible plot -
All he needed Atalanta to do
Was pass through a certain spot.

And so he arranged for the next race,
Grinning as they set out -
There would be no way for this woman to win
If they followed his route.
He did not worry when the race began
And Atalanta took the lead -
He knew that there would be no way
For her to succeed.

He jogged along and watched with glee
As lovely Atalanta stumbled
Into a gigantic bazaar
And there, finally crumbled.
She could not help but look around
At each shop and store,
Hippomenes laughed and passed her by,
His victory secure.

Or so he thought.
But then again,
As the wise men always say -
Don't count your chickens -- or count out
A pod of porcupines crossing your way.
Which is exactly what happened to our hero
And he couldn't help but grunt
"I wonder if they're good eatin'…"
And take the time to hunt.

The sun began to set
From the eastern sky
And the contestants both went home,
Calling it a tie.
And so clever Hippomenes
And Atalanta with her fleet-footed grace
Never really got around
To finishing their race.

←- Trench Coats and Love Notes - Part XVI (Final Installment!) | Bitter Bang (poem) -→

Date	Name	Comment
22 Dec 2005	Barbara J. Wickham	Loading... LOL I'm such a dork! My little experiment above obviously didn't work. Please excuse my temporary insanity. grin Glo 'the Bug' Bowden replies: "Hmmm...it looks like the quadratic formula just exploded. "
22 Dec 2005	Barbara J. Wickham	Loading... *πρώτος χορός σχολίου* It's Atalanta and Hippomenes: Director's Cut! He he. You already know I love this poem from your art gallery, but getting to read this longer version is like seeing a favorite movie with bonus scenes added. Yipee! Most outstanding writing, Glo! Glo 'the Bug' Bowden replies: "Hey -- I like it. "Atalanta and Hippomenes, take two!" Thanks, Barb! huggles"
17 May 2007	Heidi Hecht	Loading... Awesome poem you have here. This sort of reminds me of some old Greek myths. Did they ever have a rematch? Glo 'the Bug' Bowden replies: "Well, my version of Atalanta and Hippomenes don't, but in the real myth (yeah, it's based on a Greek myth), Hippomenes throws golden apples and Atalanta stops to pick them up, thus Hippomenes wins the race. I was just taking my own twist on things. "
21 May 2007	Samantha E Fortie	Loading... I like this poem its pretty funny. Thanks for stopping by my page! Great job! I am not much for poetry, but I dabble every once in a while (have to lately class requires it) Thanks for the laugh. Glo 'the Bug' Bowden replies: "I'm not much of a poet myself, to tell you the truth. This was a class requirement too! ha ha. Thank you for stopping by. I loved reading Kirsten, and when I find time I'd like to return to read your Forbidden Children series. Thank you for stopping by. "
8 Jun 2007	Blood magic	Loading... cool poem! also im joing elfwood and i already got the email that comes right after you do the short verson and now what happens and i tried to login but it woudent let me now what do i do?! please help thanks LOVE YOUR PICTURE! Glo 'the Bug' Bowden replies: "Actually it's been so long since I joined elfwood that I can't remember how that all worked. I thought they changed the system anyway. So you've gone to the extranet and they aren't letting you log in you say? -- I remember my problem was finding the extranet: http://ew3.lysator.liu.se/extranet/ Did you click "New User" from there? "
31 Jan 2008	John R Farley Jr	Loading... I think I’m just impressed at the way you made everything rhyme, without trying to force it. That’s what makes it so good, but it had to be somewhat hard. As a poem, and I’m not an expert, but I think it flows well too. Glo 'the Bug' Bowden replies: "Wow. Thank you! Rhyming poetry is the hardest in my opinion. And I don’t consider myself a poet at. all. I’ve attempted not a few times, mostly for school assignments but also on my own time, and I just never really care for what I come out with. So thank you; if this poem flows it’s an accomplishment indeed. "
4 May 2008	Katarina V. Baralić	Loading... I love it. Rhyme is very good and it makes it sound even better. Well done ^_^! Glo 'the Bug' Bowden replies: "Thank you so much! This poem is so old... and i’ve never really considered myself much of a poet. Your kind words are much appreciated!"

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About 'Atalanta and Hippomenes':

• Status: OK
• Created by:

Glo ´the Bug´ Bowden
• Copyright: ©Glo ´the Bug´ Bowden. All rights reserved!

• Keywords: Atalanta, Hippomenes, Mythology, Greek, Myths, Myth, Love, Romance
• Categories: Humourous or Cute Things, Romance, Emotion, Love
• Views: 1113

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Trench Coats and Love Notes - Part XIII A	Trench Coats and Love Notes - Part II	Trench Coats and Love Notes - Part IV
Trench Coats and Love Notes - Part XII E	Trench Coats and Love Notes - Part VI B

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