Topic Research: Greek Heroines

Hey All!

Today I'm going to expand on my topic of Greek Heroines. I strongly believe that the ladies need to be represented from Greek Mythology. I did some more research on a few different goddesses and will continue to search for more over the week. I am still debating whether to do a storybook or a portfolio. If I pursue this topic I would like to know what their origins were (i.e. parents, the city they were born in, who they married, any children) and focus the stories on what made them the heroines rather than just another average Greek. I would like to have the stories in a first-person view and be descriptive of the challenges they faced and connect two or three heroines in some way. For example, I might do a first-person narrative of Penelope and her struggles during her wait for Odysseus.

I want to focus my stories on:

Atalanta:

• Atalanta was an Arkadian heroine--a huntress and a favourite of the goddess Artemis.
• Atalanta swore to defend her virginity and when two Kentauroi (Centaurs) burst into her grove, she slew them with arrows. She later took part in the voyage of the Argonauts and defeated the hero Peleus in wrestling at the funeral games of King Pelias.
• The heroine reluctantly agreed insisting that a suitor must defeat her in a race and that the losers be put to death. Melanion--or Hippomenes--however, sought the help of the goddess Aphrodite who provided him with three golden apples to cast before the girl in the race.
• neglected to pay Aphrodite her dues. She cursed him and he was compelled to lie with his wife in the sacred precinct of Zeus, Rhea or Artemis where an offended deity transformed them into lions.

Leda:

• Leda was a queen of Sparta, the wife of King Tyndareus, who was seduced by Zeus in the guise of the swan.
• In the chronology of myth Leda was a contemporary of Herakles who placed her husband Tyndareus on the throne of Sparta.
• Leda was usually described as a daughter of Thestios, king of Pleuron.
• not really sure I like Leda's character so much at the moment

Penthesilea:

• Penthesilea was an Amazon queen who led her troops to Troy in support of King Priamos during the Trojan War.
• In the battles which ensued Penthesileia slew the Greek Makhaon (Machaon) but was in turn felled by Akhilleus (Achilles). 
• Penthesileia's name means "mourned by the people" 

Tyro:

• Tyro was a Thessalian princess who fell in love with the river Enipeus. As she was sitting on the banks of the river, Poseidon seduced her in the guise of the river-god.
• There were several alternate versions of her story. In one, after Tyro revealed she was pregnant by the god, her father Salmoneus refused to believe her, suspecting that his wicked brother Sisyphos was involved. He commanded her to expose the children as soon as they were born.

Stories will focus on bringing the importance of the heroines into the stories and making the readers knowledgable about the origins of the goddesses. Picked some that overlapped. Any suggestions and comments are appreciated!

Leda and the Swan