It was not by shrinking from hard work, Tullus, that Milanion tamed the savagery of Atalanta.
Milanion nullos fugiendo, Tulle, labores
saevitiam durae contudit Iasidos
Most ancient accounts hold that Milanion (Hippomenes) won Atalanta’s hand in marriage by beating her in a footrace, in which he threw golden apples on the course to distract her and ensure his own victory. Propertius, however, gives a vague account of a series of hunting expeditions undertaken with the aim of impressing her, ultimately ending in a conflict with the centaur Hylaeus, in which Milanion sustained an impressive injury. Whether because she pitied him or she was impressed by his wound, Atalanta loved Milanion thereafter. Propertius’ account is, more or less, about as un-romantic as the traditional version.
