[338] There was a tragedy of Æschylus called Ἀταλάντη, of which nothing remains (Bothe, Æschyli Fragm. ix. p. 18).
Of the more recent dramatic writers, several selected Atalanta as their subject (See Brandstäter, Geschichte Ætoliens, p. 65).
[339] There was a poem of Stesichorus, Συόθηραι (Stesichor. Fragm. 15. p. 72).
[340] The catalogue of these heroes is in Apollodôr. i. 8, 2; Ovid, Metamor. viii. 300; Hygin. fab. 173. Euripidês, in his play of Meleager, gave an enumeration and description of the heroes (see Fragm. 6 of that play, ed. Matth.). Nestôr, in this picture of Ovid, however, does not appear quite so invincible as in his own speeches in the Iliad. The mythographers thought it necessary to assign a reason why Hêraklês was _not_ present at the Kalydônian adventure: he was just at that time in servitude with Omphalê in Lydia (Apollod. ii. 6, 3). This seems to have been the idea of Ephorus, and it is much in his style of interpretation (see Ephor. Fragm. 9. ed. Didot.).
Κύπριδος δὲ μίσημ᾽, Ἀρκὰς Ἀταλάντη, κύνας Καὶ τόξ᾽ ἔχουσα, etc.
There was a drama “Meleager” both of Sophoklês and Euripidês: of the former hardly any fragments remain,—a few more of the latter.
[343] Diodôr, iv. 34. Apollôdorus (i. 8; 2-4) gives first the usual narrative, including Atalanta; next, the Homeric narrative with some additional circumstances, but not including either Atalanta or the fire-brand on which Meleager’s life depended. He prefaces the latter with the words οἱ δέ φασι, etc. Antoninus Liberalis gives this second narrative only, without Atalanta, from Nicander (Narrat. 2).
The Latin scenic poet, Attius, had devoted one of his tragedies to this subject, taking the general story as given by Euripidês: “Remanet gloria apud me: exuvias dignavi Atalantæ dare,” seems to be the speech of Meleager. (Attii Fragm. 8, ap. Poet. Scen. Lat. ed. Bothe, p. 215). The readers of the Æneid will naturally think of the swift and warlike virgin Camilla, as the parallel of Atalanta.