Athena forcing Atalanta to return this time was likely also a task from The Fates.
After the epic journey of the Argo and the Calydonian Boar Hunt, Atalanta was met with a bleak destiny: her irresponsible father, in his desire for a powerful heir, forced his daughter—for whom he had never taken responsibility—to marry other men.
Atalanta naturally wanted to refuse, but though she was formidable as a woman, she couldn't stand against an entire nation. Faced with Arcadia, she had no choice but to compromise with her father, choosing a middle ground: she would select her husband through a footrace.
As the "Silver Chariot" of the Greek World, Atalanta feared no one in running except Heracles and the as-yet-unseen Achilles. Those who lost to her in a race were shot and killed by her as targets for her anger.
By doing so, she hoped to deter all men in Greece and become a "fierce woman" whom no Greek man dared to provoke. However, the men of the Greek World inherently possessed a spirit of adventure that thrived on challenges. The more men Atalanta killed, the more challengers came forward.
Yet, Atalanta's strength was undeniable; no matter how many men sought to claim her, she outran them with her long legs and then shot them with her Bow of the Heavens, thus defending her chastity.
This continued until a man named Hippomenes appeared. This man was not Heracles or Achilles; he certainly couldn't outrun Atalanta. However, he leveraged the power of Aphrodite. He prayed to the goddess of love and beauty, and in return, Aphrodite gave him three golden apples.
Of course, these three golden apples were not the one contended for by the Three Goddesses—Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. There were actually many golden apples in the Greek World. The golden apples came from a sacred tree planted in a sacred garden, which the Earth Goddess Gaia brought back from the western coast as a wedding gift for Zeus and Hera.
This tree was laden with golden apples. Zeus appointed Hesperides, the three daughters of the Night God, to guard the sacred garden where the golden apples were planted, along with Ladon, a hundred-headed giant dragon, to assist them in their watch.
These apples were not rare items for the chief gods; even Ares had eaten one or two at a banquet. One of Heracles's twelve labors also involved obtaining golden apples. Aphrodite's three apples were simply picked by her from the sacred garden as her share.
At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the Three Goddesses contended for that particular golden apple not for the apple itself, but for the inscription on it: "To the fairest goddess."
Returning to the main topic, while these apples held limited appeal for the gods, their charm was irresistible to mortals. During the race, whenever Hippomenes was about to be overtaken by Atalanta, he would throw a golden apple, enticing Atalanta to turn back and pick it up. In this underhanded way, Hippomenes ultimately won the race and married Atalanta.
But good times were short-lived. After an unwilling marriage, Atalanta's husband, Hippomenes, forgot to make sacrifices to Aphrodite and consequently suffered the goddess of beauty's retaliation. He was cursed by a certain goddess associated with the earth, and Atalanta was also implicated, transforming into a lioness to become a sacred beast pulling the goddess of beauty's chariot, a truly tragic end.
Ares, being a rebellious figure, naturally felt that Atalanta, with all her skill, was being wasted by pulling a chariot, especially for the most useless Aphrodite. Therefore, he had long prepared to intervene in this matter.
Athena likely anticipated this, which is why she resorted to such a drastic measure. She probably intended to use the time Ares spent intervening to make other arrangements, such as colluding with Triton as before. Ares, in fact, could have chosen not to intervene and instead focused on containing Athena.
However, whether for Artemis's sake or because of his own principles, Ares chose to intervene in this matter.
So, after staying overnight in the city of Calydon, Ares and Atalanta embarked on the journey back to Arcadia together.
The human and the god did not depart ostentatiously but concealed their whereabouts. This news only reached Meleager, who had been longing for Atalanta, several days later. Upon learning of it, the Prince of Calydon was deeply saddened, lamenting the harshness of fate.
For Atalanta, traveling with a god was quite interesting. Although there was a slight regret that this god was not Artemis, whom she worshipped, Ares was also a deity closely related to Artemis as her brother, and a major god whose status was not inferior to Artemis. Therefore, Atalanta felt greatly honored by this experience.
When traveling with her, Ares did not choose to stay by her side like a companion. Instead, shortly after Atalanta left Calydon, Ares entered a state invisible to ordinary eyes. Atalanta could only sense the god's presence beside her.
During their journey, Atalanta unexpectedly discovered that this god, rumored to be crude, arrogant, bloodthirsty, and warlike, was not as fearsome as the rumors suggested. On the contrary, he was very polite and gentlemanly, with a gentler temper than many men in the Greek World.
When Atalanta called out to him, he would respond. When Atalanta was bathing or using the latrine, she could feel the War God move away from her, avoiding her awkward moments. In times of danger, while Ares would not directly intervene, he would offer verbal warnings and even guide Atalanta's combat techniques.
Throughout this journey, Atalanta even subtly felt that Ares was a more responsible and gentle god than Artemis.
With Ares's protection, Atalanta quickly returned safely to Arcadia. Her birth father, Iasos, the King of Arcadia, rushed to meet her, acknowledged her as his daughter, made her the Princess of Arcadia, and welcomed her to live in the royal palace.
However, this good fortune was short-lived. Three days later, Atalanta proactively sought out Ares, who was staying in the Arcadia temple, and prayed to him, saying:
"Lord Ares, my father, Iasos, wishes for me to marry a man, bear children, and produce an heir for the Arcadia Kingdom. But I do not wish to marry. What should I do?"
"Has it finally come?"
Upon hearing this news, Ares's spirits lifted. He then revealed his true form before Atalanta and said to her:
"Do not be afraid. I am here for this very reason. First, act according to your own desires. Afterward, I will accompany you in another identity and help you overcome this difficulty."