Gambling and the Legend of Atalanta

Today, gambling is a multi-billion dollar industry. Casinos and other gambling establishments feature a wide range of gambling games that people can enjoy, such as roulette, poker, craps, and gambling machines such as the slot machine -or one-armed bandit- and digital poker. Gambling is an activity that involves wagering something of value -nowadays; it's usually money- on the outcome of an event, with the intention of winning something of greater value as well. This activity has been a part of human life for centuries -perhaps even millennia. Ancient myths and legends are full of references to gambling.

One example of such a reference can be seen in ancient Greek mythology. Atalanta was a great female warrior and huntress. She was highly skilled in battle, and her fleetness of foot was almost unmatched. The most well known part of Atalanta's story is the tale of how she got married. Atalanta had once been involved with Meleager, a prince and fellow warrior. Unfortunately, their romance was short-lived, as Meleager died. Afterwards, her father wanted her to get married, but because Atalanta felt that marrying would be unfaithful to her first lover, she devised a way to avoid getting married. She offered her father a wager, and the stakes were especially high: she staked herself. Only the man who could defeat her in a foot race could have her hand in marriage. Those who entered into this gamble also had to wager something of equal value; those who lost against her were put to death. Many men met their doom because of this.

Melanion -who, in some versions of the story, was also known as Hippopmenes- was one of Atalanta's suitors. She had taken a fancy to him, and did not want him to die when she defeated him, so she tried to convince him not to compete against her. Melanion had found a way to tip the odds in his favor though. During the race, he was able to distract Atalanta with three golden apples given to him by Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Each time Atalanta had too much of a lead against him, Melanion would throw an apple in her path. In some versions, Atalanta purposely stopped and went out of her way to pick up the apples, and in some versions, she was fascinated by their beauty, and got distracted by them. In this way, Melanion was able to win the race and get the prize of Atalanta's hand in marriage.

While many stories from ancient Greek mythology have several references to gambling, it is also interesting to note that most of the time, the players involved cheated, or otherwise had a way of tipping the odds in their favor. Melanion was no different.