Hyginus Fabulae, 185. ATALANTA.
Schoeneus is said to have had an extraordinarily lovely daughter, Atalanta, who defeated men by the strength of her running. She asked her father to allow her to remain a virgin. And thus, although many suitors sought her hand in marriage, her father established a trial — Whoever wanted to marry her would have to first compete with her in a footrace, with the agreement that he would run unarmed but she would chase after him with a spear; that, if she should catch up to him before the end of the last lap, she would kill him and put his head as a trophy in the stadium. When she had defeated and killed many, she was finally defeated by Hippomenes, the son of Megareus and Merope.
This man had received from Venus three apples of outstanding beauty with instructions on how to use them. And by throwing these he hindered the girl’s speed during the race itself. For she ran off course to pick them up and to admire the gold they were from, and thereby she handed the victory to the young man. Schoeneus appreciated his cleverness and willingly gave his daughter to wife. When Hippomenes was taking her to his homeland, forgetful that he had conquered by Venus’ kind intervention, he offered the goddess no thanks. When Venus was enraged that he was offering sacrifice to Jupiter the Victor on Mount Parnassus, he was overcome with desire and had sexual relations with Atalanta in Jupiter’s sacred precinct. Jupiter for this misdeed turned them into a lion and a lioness, animals to whom the gods deny sexual reproduction.
— translation RTMacfarlane
185, Atalanta
Schoeneus Atalantam filiam uirginem formosissimam dicitur habuisse, quae uirtute sua cursu uiros superabat. ea petiit a patre ut se uirginem seruaret. (2) itaque cum a pluribus in coniugium peteretur, pater eius simultatem constituit, qui eam ducere uellet prius in certamine cursus cum ea contenderet, termino constituto, ut ille inermis fugeret, haec cum telo insequeretur; quem intra finem termini cons