Atalanta

by Jennifer Saint

She was my sister, mother, guide and teacher all in one, and just like her, I wanted to fear nothing.

I needed to remember who I was, who I had always been. A woman who was unafraid.

I didn’t have to be an obedient follower of Artemis, jumping to serve her every command; I didn’t have to be a hero in the mould of Jason or Heracles or the angry boar-hunters at Calydon. I wasn’t going to try to shape myself to be like one of them, a ruthless, self-serving, glory-seeking man. I was something different to them all.