Schoenus participated in the Trojan War and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships (Il. 2.497).
A Boeotian, father of Atalanta, son of Athamas.
Atalante. In ancient mythology there occur two personages of this name, who have
been regarded by some writers as identical, while others distinguish between them.
Among the latter we may mention the Scholiast on Theocritus (iii. 40), Burmann
(ad Ov. Met. x. 565), Spanheim (ad Callimach.), and Muncker (ad. Hygin. Fab. 99,
173, 185). K. O. Muller, on the other hand, who maintains the identity of the
two Atalantes, has endeavoured to shew that the distinction cannot be carried
out satisfactorily. But the difficulties are equally great in either case. The
common accounts distinguish between the Arcadian and the Boeotian Atalante.
The Boeotian Atalante. About her the same stories are related as about the Arcadian
Atalante, except that her parentage and the localities are described differently.
Thus she is said to have been a daughter of Schoenus, and to have been married
to Hippomenes. Her footrace is transferred to the Boeotian Onchestus, and the
sanctuary which the newly married couple profaned by their love, was a temple
of Cybele, who metamorphosed them into lions, and yoked them to her chariot (Ov.
Met. x. 565, &c., viii. 318, &c. ; Hygin. Fab. 185). In both traditions
the main cause of the metamorphosis is, that the husband of Atalante neglected
to thank Aphrodite for the gift of the golden apples. Atalante has in the ancient
poets various surnames or epithets, which refer partly to her descent, partly
to her occupation (the chase), and partly to her swiftness. She was represented
on the chest of Cypselus holding a hind, and by her side stood Meilanion. She
also appeared in the pediment of the temple of Athena Alea at Tegea among the
Calydonian hunters (Paus. v. 19.1, viii. 45.4).
For Arcadian Atalante see at Parthenion
Mountain
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Atalanta: The Boeotian Version. Atalanta was the daughter of Schoenens, son of Athamas, and distinguished for beauty and swiftness of foot. An oracle warned her against marriage, and she accordingly lived a lonely life in the forest. She met the addresses of her suitors by challenging them to race with her, overtaking them in the race and spearing them in the back. She was at length beaten, however, by Hippomenes, who during the race dropped on the ground three golden apples given him by Aphrodite. Atalanta stooped down to pick up the apples, and thus lost the race. Hippomenes forgot to render thanks to Aphrodite, and the goddess in anger caused the pair in their passion to profane the sanctuary of Cybele, where they were changed into lions. (Atalanta: The Arcadian Version, see Schinous, ancient city, Arcadia )
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Jan 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Hippomenes and Atalanta: P. Ovidius Naso, History of Love, by Charles Hopkins
Schoenus is a district of the Theban territory on the road that leads from Thebes to Anthedon, and is about fifty stadia distant from Thebes; and there is also a river Schoenus which flows through it.
Schoinous. The name of several towns, from the reeds or rushes growing in their neighbourhood (usually Schoinos). A town in Boeotia, mentioned by Homer (Il. ii. 497), and placed by Stabo upon a river of the same name in the territory of Thebes, upon the road to Anthedon, and at the distance of 50 stadia from Thebes. (Strab. ix. p. 408; Eustath. ad loc.; Steph. B. s. v.; Nicander, Theriac. 887; Plin. iv. 7. s. 12.) This river is probably the stream flowing into the lake of Hylica from the valley of Moriki, and which near its mouth is covered with rushes. Nicander is clearly wrong, who makes the Schoenus flow into the lake Copais. (Ulrichs, Reisen, p. 258; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. p. 320.) Schoenus was the birthplace of the celebrated Atalanta, the daughter of Schoenus (Paus. viii. 35. § 10); and hence Statius gives to Schoenus the epithet of Atalantaeus.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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