metamorphoses of atalanta

"You may have heard of Atalanta:
one who, when she ran, would beat the fastest men."

" 'Whoever hopes to have me,' so she said,
 'must first defeat me in a footrace; for all
of those who are too slow, it's death they'll get.'
Despite the terms that Atalanta set, a reckless crowd
of suitors came to race that fateful course.
With every win, she crossed the finish line; a victor,
she received the crown of garlands."

This part of the poem is quite extensive, so I shall summarize. One suitor, Hippomenes, recognizes he could never win on his own, and seeks help from Aphrodite. She gives him three golden apples and promises if Atalanta sees them during the race their beauty will entrance and distract her. Hippomenes gratefully takes them and challenges Atalanta to race. And so the race begins...

"As they sped, how many times did she,
about to pass, relent and gaze at length upon his face,
until at last, she raced ahead -- reluctantly?"

"The run is long, the goal is still far off.
And finally, Hippomenes drops the first
of those three golden apples.
Even as it rolls, she is enchanted by the
gleaming gold; she veers off course to pick it up.
But she recoups her loss; once more the girl has gained the lead. "

"And when he throws the second apple, she retrieves that apple, too, but passes him again."

"The final stretch is all thats left. With all the 

force of youth he throws the gleaming golden 

fruit -- obliquely, distantly-- off course. 

The girl seemed hesitant, uncertain of her choice: 

to let it lie or pick it up. But compelled she 

went off, she picked it up. She lost time and too, 

the weight of three golden apples hampered her. 

She was outstripped; the winner led away his prize, his wife."

 (Excerpts from Ovid's Metamorphoses book ten)

 Dear Sarah, thank you for sprinting in circles in front of mountain bikers. It wouldn't be an afternoon with Sarah without its share of sillyness.

Also, Sarah made these shoes entirely out of twine. Impressive, huh? She made her dress too.