New day, new haiku!
This one is for Atalanta, a courageous and fierce huntress (not be be confused with Atalanta, the Argonaut). Small wonder that she has been compared to Artemis, theyre similar indeed.
In fact, she swore an oath to Artemis, keeping to the two thing the goddess herself treasures other than hunting - her virginity.

She was more of a tomboy, other than hunting, she loved wrestling, riding horses and such. She gained a reputation for being so skilled and better than her male counterparts.

Theres so much story around this extraordinary woman of myth. Her father left her for death from the moment she was born and she was raised by a she bear, and eventually raised by hunters. She played a role in the hunt for the Calydonian boar was gifted the boars head and hide by Meleager, a fellow hunter and slayer of the beast who happened to be in love with her and was tragically killed by his mother. The reason being because he killed his uncles who were jealous that such a prize was given to her and not them.

Even from birth, this woman was badass.
Now for the main and popular myth!
Not only was Atalanta a skilled huntress, she was beautiful, grabbing the attention of men (who were intrigued and some probably wanted to put her in her proverbial place, so to speak).

So she said that she will offer her hand to the man who could outrun her in a race, but the losers will lose their life by her hand.

One man caught her eye, Hippomenes (aka Milanion or Melanion). He knew well enough to know he couldnt beat her in a race so he turned to Aphrodite to help. The Goddess of Love was outraged by Atalantas lack of interest in love, so she granted him three golden apples of the Hesperides before the race commenced.

As expected, Atalanta was beating him and he would drop a golden apple to make her stop and admire it. Some myths say she deliberately did so to give him a chance to win, haha! And win he did!

She did swear off marriage (oath to Artemis) but happily married him and gave birth to their son, Parthenopaeus.

But their marriage was shortlived and they were turned into lions...
The reason being because they were so consumed by their passion, that they actually made love in one of Zeus' sacred temples. Another myth states that her husband didnt honor his dues to Aphrodite and so she cursed them to make love in the temple.

Honestly, this is one of my favourite myths. I find her so inspiring as a character (and the fact that they apparently made love in one of Zeus' temples makes me laugh hard! The irony! The last line of the haiku is a reference to their...excited *******, haha! 😂😂😂)

Men didnt like that she was so strong and skilled as a huntress yet she stuck to her guns and proved herself, though she didnt really have to. Thats something we can all learn from as a whole to be honest. Even her name is rooted from 'atalantos' which means, "equal in weight"- a testament to her achievements and victories with men.

Man or woman, we are all true equals. None exceeds another. We all have our strengths and weakness in life but if we stay true to our resolve to be the best we can be, we'll be much better for it! ^^

Anyway, thank you all for growing followers, I'm forever humbled and grateful for the support🙏🌹💜
Here's the link for the growing collection:
https://hellopoetry.com/collection/132853/the-women-of-myth/
Be back tomorrow with another one!
Much love,
Lyn 💜

Best friends are great, if you have a great one, love them, hold them, and cherish them. Happy birthday Denise, I’ll forever love you and hold the time we shared deep in my heart.

BONUS HAIKU!
This one is in link with Clymenestra's story. [Link: https://hellopoetry.com/poem/3980318/clytemnestra/]
Somewhat of another layer of tragedy in the story. Kassandra (or Cassandra) was a Trojan Princess who became the lover of Agamemnon. But before he brought her to his kingdom, before their subsequent deaths, she was a Priestess of Apollo.

Apollo was said to be so enamoured by her. In exchange for the gift of seeing the future, she promised him favours. In one variant, she broke her word after he granted her the gift (something he couldnt revoke to his chargin) and he cursed her further, no one would ever believe her prophecies. Another variant is that he gave her the power to tempt her into his bed and that didnt work, and he cursed her.

Either way, much like Clytemnestra, she too is a tragic figure. She had told Agamemnon repeatedly of the danger to come but he never believed her. And she too was resigned to her fate, she fully accepted it. But at least she was accepted in Elysian despite it all.

The first line does allude to Apollo and it's very much a euphemism.
The rest, highlights her power and tragedy to come.
Anyway, thank you all for growing followers, I'm forever humbled and grateful for the support🙏🌹💜
Here's the link for the growing collection:
https://hellopoetry.com/collection/132853/the-women-of-myth/
Be back tomorrow with another one!
Much love,
Lyn 💜

New day, new haiku!
This one is for Queen Clytemnestra, mother of Iphigenia [link to her poem: https://hellopoetry.com/poem/3921056/iphigenia/]
Now let me not lie, at first when I first read about her I didnt like her but after I did more research, I couldnt help but feel bad for her as she wasnt one dimensional. I found that in one variant before she was Agamemnon's wife, she was married to King Tantalus of Pisa and has a son whom Agamemnon slew before her eyes before taking her to bride.

Bear in mind Agamemnon was known to be a skilled warrior but arrogant and selfish as a ruler. He angered Artemis by boasting he was a superior hunter and killed one of her sacred stags. Artemis made the winds weak so he could not participate in the Trojan War. And so he lured his daughter Iphigenia and her mother under the pretense of marriage to Achilles...only for her mother to watch another child die before her eyes.

I cant imagine what Clytemnestra was subjected to being married to Agamemnon but to see two children die before her eyes...I can see her already having resentment towards her Warrior husband and with the death of her daughter, she snapped and wanted vengeance. I'm sure the cogs were turning in her head as she had an affair with his cousin,
Aegisthus. Depending on the myth variant, she was either seduced by him or chose to enter into it. Both were planning the death of Agamemnon. I believe Aegisthus's own father was betrayed by Agamemnon's. (Hence the cogs of vengeance turning).

And when her husband returned from Troy, he was slain, he and his lover, Cassandra. Some myths say she slew him, some myths said the angry loves did the deed together.
But it's hard not to feel some sympathy for her.
Vengeance is a never ending cycle that can cause great harm in the long run. That's one thing I've learned from her myth.
That, and hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned...

Anyway, thank you all for growing followers, I'm forever humbled and grateful for the support🙏🌹💜
Here's the link for the growing collection:
https://hellopoetry.com/collection/132853/the-women-of-myth/
Be back with another one!
Much love,
Lyn 💜