Panel from a mosaic pavement: Atalanta, on horseback, hunts a lion. The lion and the end of the Greek inscription giving Atalanta's name are missing. From a Roman Villa at Halicarnassus, 4th century AD. Atalanta is a character in Greek mythology, a virgin huntress, unwilling to marry, and loved by the hero Meleager. Having grown up in the wilderness, Atalanta became a fierce hunter and was always happy. She took an oath of virginity to the goddess Artemis. Halicarnassus was an ancient Greek city at the site of modern Bodrum in Turkey. The city was famous for the tomb of Mausolus, the origin of the word mausoleum, built between 353-350 BC, and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was part of the Persian Empire until it was captured by Alexander the Great at the siege of Halicarnassus in 334 BC.