Housekeeping: Evangelion is knocked back a week because of various stuff discussed in the post. We approach the end like two parallel lines doomed to meet only at infinity.…1
You may know the story of Atalanta,2 the fleet-footed girl who would only marry a man who could beat her in a race, and who was, eventually, beaten by Hippomenes, who distracted her by tossing golden apples in her path. A classic story for girls about how you can have love or greatness but not both (and you aren’t the one who chooses between them for yourself, most of the time). Atalanta doesn’t even really get love as she is subsequently and regrettably turned into a lion.
But, as with all myths, Atalanta shows up in different stories doing different things. For instance, in another, she goes on a boar hunt in Calydon with a man named Meleager, who is wooing her. The boar in question is rampaging because the king of Calydon disrespected Artemis, a goddess who figures prominently in the story of Atalanta in all varia…