The Golden Apples of Aphrodite: Symbol of Divine Manipulation and Choice
What Are the Golden Apples?
The golden apples are a concrete symbol in Jennifer Saint's Atalanta. Literally, they are three small, gleaming fruits from the Garden of the Hesperides — the same orchard Heracles plundered during his labors. In the novel, Aphrodite gives them to Hippomenes before the footrace against Atalanta. The apples are described as smooth, heavy, and impossibly beautiful, with a delicate golden stem and leaf. They do not belong to the human realm and carry the aura of divine interference.
The apples first appear in Chapter Twenty-Eight, when Hippomenes flings them across the racecourse one by one. Atalanta, who could easily win, cannot resist chasing each apple. After the race, she ultimately lets him win to spare his life. Later, in Chapter Twenty-Nine, she leaves the apples behind on a stone, refusing to take them as a trophy. Finally, while sheltering in a ruined temple of Rhea, Atalanta and Hippomenes succumb to Aphrodite's enchantment — a punishment for disdaining her gift — and are transformed into lions.
The Apples’ Changing Meaning
Each appearance deepens the symbol’s complexity.
During the race: Distraction and divine trickery. The apples work as literal distractions. Atalanta, even knowing she is being manipulated, chooses to collect them because they represent something she desires: proof of heroism, equal to Heracles. She thinks, “These Golden Apples were a trophy presented to Hera … an emblem of his legendary status … And now, they could be mine.” The apples tempt her with fame and validation in a world that denies women heroic recognition. Yet her choice to chase them also reveals her agency — she could still win, but she decides to lose so Hippomenes lives.
After the race: A rejected prize. Following the hasty marriage, Atalanta pushes the apples off the stone. She realizes that taking them would tie her to a patriarchal system of glory: “anything I did with his resources would have been in his name, and I would never let that happen.” By leaving the apples behind, she rejects not only divine manipulation but also the mortal fame that comes through male approval. The apples become a symbol of a bargain she refuses to honor on Aphrodite’s terms.
In the temple: Catalyst for transformation. The apples are absent from the temple, but their echo lingers. Aphrodite’s enchantment is a direct response to Atalanta’s rejection. The couple loses control, and their lovemaking defiles a sacred space. This leads to Rhea’s wrath and their transformation into lions. Yet Atalanta feels a surge of joy in her new form — the apples, indirectly, free her from human constraints and divine control, helping her achieve the wildness she has always sought.
Character Connections
- Atalanta: The apples test her independence. She chases them, defers to Hippomenes, then discards them. Each choice reaffirms her agency even within divine schemes.
- Hippomenes: He obtains the apples from Aphrodite as a desperate act of friendship/love. He uses them not to win, but to give Atalanta a choice — either take the apples and fame, or let him live. His motive is self-sacrifice, not conquest.
- Aphrodite: Though she does not appear directly, her apples represent her rivalry with Artemis and her desire to claim Atalanta for the realm of desire and marriage.
- Artemis: The apples symbolize the opposite of Artemis’s domain: love, seduction, and marriage. By accepting the apples, Atalanta breaks her vow to Artemis; by rejecting them later, she tries to return, but the damage is done.
Theme Connections
The symbol ties directly to core themes of the novel:
- Female Autonomy and Divine Control: The apples are a tool of divine manipulation, yet Atalanta repeatedly makes her own decisions — to chase, to lose, to marry, to leave. Her autonomy exists within (and pushes against) the constraints of divine will.
- Transformation and Identity: The apples set in motion the chain of events that ends with Atalanta becoming a lion. In the epilogue, she declares she is “more herself than ever,” suggesting that transformation is not a punishment but a fulfillment.
- Oaths and Their Consequences: Atalanta’s oath to Artemis conflicts with the bargain she makes with Hippomenes and Aphrodite. The apples force her to break one oath to keep another, and the consequences ripple into the final transformation.
- Violence and Heroic Reputation: The apples offer a shortcut to heroism, but Atalanta realizes that fame earned through divine gifts is hollow. She chooses a different kind of legacy — wild, untamed, and hers alone.
- Motherhood as Hidden Truth: Although the apples themselves do not directly symbolize motherhood, the race and marriage tie into Atalanta’s status as a mother. She already has a son, Parthenopaios, and her father Iasus wants her to marry for an heir. The apples distract her from that patriarchal pressure, allowing her to eventually leave her son behind and embrace her own wild identity.
Study Questions and Answers
Here are four study questions grounded in the text, with answers drawn from the provided evidence.
1. Why does Atalanta chase the golden apples during the race, even though she knows she could win without them?
Atalanta chases the apples because they represent a chance to prove herself equal to Heracles, the greatest of Greek heroes. She recalls that Heracles seized these same apples as a trophy, and she thinks, “what a prize … proof to the world that he was the greatest of heroes.” By claiming them for herself, she could gain legendary fame that no mortal woman had achieved. The apples also appeal to her competitive pride and her desire to be seen as more than just a fast runner.
2. What does Hippomenes risk by using the apples, and what does he hope to achieve?
Hippomenes risks his life — if Atalanta had taken the apples and won, Iasus would have executed him as a losing suitor. He also risks Aphrodite’s anger if he fails to fulfill her condition (likely marriage). He hopes to give Atalanta a genuine choice: she can take the apples and achieve fame while he dies, or she can let him win and spare his life. He tells her, “I only wanted to give you the choice.” His motive is selfless friendship and love, not victory.
3. In what way does Atalanta’s decision to marry Hippomenes after the race represent an assertion of agency, not submission?
Atalanta agrees to marry Hippomenes on the racetrack immediately after the race, but she does so on her own terms. She says to Iasus, “I made a bargain with you, and I’ll honor it.” She knows Hippomenes wants to flee, but she chooses to stay and marry him because it is her decision, not her father’s. The text notes, “For the first time, the choice was mine.” By rejecting the palace and the pretenses of a proper ritual, she turns the marriage into an act of defiance against both Iasus and Aphrodite. She then leaves the town entirely, taking only Hippomenes.
4. Why do Atalanta and Hippomenes leave the golden apples behind after the wedding, and what does that action signify?
They leave the apples on the stone because Atalanta realizes that taking them would make her accomplishments belong to her father’s name, not her own. She reflects, “anything I did with his resources would have been in his name, and I would never let that happen.” By discarding the apples, she rejects the patriarchal system of heroic fame and also defies Aphrodite’s scheme. The apples are a symbol of divine manipulation; leaving them behind means she refuses to be a pawn. This act of rejection ultimately provokes Aphrodite’s revenge, but it also clears the way for Atalanta’s true transformation into a lion — her final, authentic identity.