life in the forest. She meets the addresses of her suitors by challenging them to race with her, overtaking them in the race and spearing them in the back. She is at length beaten by Hippŏmĕnēs, who during the race drops on the ground three golden apples given him by Aphrodite. Atalante stoops down to pick up the apples, and thus loses the race. Hippomenes forgets to render thanks to Aphrodite, and the goddess in anger causes the pair to wander into a sanctuary of Cy̌bĕlē, where they are changed into lions.
Atargatis. See Dea Syria.
Atē. According to Homer, the daughter of Zeus; according to Hesiod, of Eris or Strife. She personifies infatuation; the infatuation being generally held to imply guilt as its cause and evil as its consequence. At first she dwelt on Olympus; but after she had entrapped Zeus himself into his rash oath on the occasion of the birth of Hērăclēs (see Heracles), he hurled her down to earth. Here she pursues her mission of evil, walking lightly over men's heads, but never touching the ground. Behind her go the Lĭtai ("Prayers"), the lame, wrinkled, squinting daughters of Zeus. The Litai, if called upon, heal the hurts inflicted by Ate; but they bring fresh evil upon the stubborn. In later times Ate is transformed into an avenger of unrighteousness, like Dĭkē, Erīny̌s and Nĕmĕsis.
Atēius Căpĭtō (Gaius). A Roman jurist of the age of Augustus and Tiberius, who was born about 30 b.c., and died about 22 a.d. Unlike his contemporary Antistius Lăbĕō (q.v.), he recommended himself to the ruling powers by his submissive attitude. He was rewarded by many tokens of distinction; among others, by the consulship, to which he was elected in 5 a.d., before attaining the legal age. As a jurist (again unlike Antistius) he represented the conservative tendency, and so became the founder of a special school called the Sabīniānī, after his pupil Masŭrius Sabīnus.
Atellāna (i.e. Atellāna fābŭla). [A farce or comedy, which the ancients supposed was originally acted or invented at the Oscan town of Atella in Campania. Modern scholars incline to the opinion that it was a species of Latin drama representing scenes at Atella, or scenes of country-town life. Its characteristics were (1) that it was performed by free-born youths, not by professional actors; (2) that certain conventional characters, as Buccō ("Fatchaps"), Dossennus ("The Glutton"), Pappus ("The old father"), Maccus ("The fool") always occurred in it; (3) that it contained puzzles to explain, either in the plot or in single lines.] The Atellanæ came into fashion at Rome as after-pieces (exŏdia) about the end of the 3rd century b.c., displacing the sătŭræ. (See Satura). Till the beginning of the last century of the Republic the Atellana was probably an improvisation; but, in the hands of Pompōnius of Bonōnia and Nŏvius, it was raised to the position of a regular comedy on the Greek model. From about the middle of the 1st century b.c., the Atellana went out of fashion in favour of the mīmus, but was revived, probably in the reign of Tiberius, by a certain Mummius. It lived on for some time under the Empire, till at last it became undistinguishable from the mimus.
Athămās. Son of Æŏlus, king of Thessaly, and Enărĕtē; brother of Crētheus, Sisy̌phus, and Salmōneus; king of the Mīny̌æ in the Bœotian Orchŏmĕnus. He was the husband of the cloud-goddess Nĕphĕlē, mother of Phrixus and Hellē, who left him on his union with a mortal, Inō the daughter of Cadmus. Nephele in anger visited the land with a drought, upon which Ino endeavoured, by means of a pretended oracle, to have her stepson Phrixus sacrificed on the altar of Zeus Laphystĭus. But Nephele conveyed the children away through the air on a golden-fleeced ram. During the passage Helle fell into the sea, which was afterwards, from her name, called the Hellespontus. But her brother arrived safely at the palace of Æētēs, king of Æa, who gave him his daughter Chalcĭŏpē in marriage. Afterwards Athamas was himself about to be sacrificed by his people to Zeus Laphystius; but he was saved by the appearance of Phrixus' son Cytissōrus, who brought the news that Phrixus was still alive. His escape, however, only brought down the wrath of the god upon his descendants. The first-born of his race was ever afterwards liable to be sacrificed to Zeus Laphystius, if he entered the council-chamber and did not get out of the way in time. Later on Athamas was visited with madness by Hēra, because Ino brought up her nephew Dionȳsus, the son of her sister Sĕmĕlē. In his frenzy he killed his son Learchus, and persecuted Ino, who with her other son Mĕlĭcertēs leaped into the sea. Here she became the sea-goddess Leucŏthĕa, and her son the sea-god Palæmōn. On recovering from his madness, Athamas was commanded by an oracle to settle in a place where he
