Artemis, the Goddess of Hunting & the Moon
The goddess Artemis was a major Olympian goddess who was both worshipped and feared by ancient Greeks. Quick to anger and cunning when it came to revenge, Artemis could both protect and torment those who worshipped her. The protector of virgins, children, hunters and the wild, Artemis is regarded as an early feminist representation due to her knowledge of nature and her independence from male relationships.
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Family
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Artemis was one of lightning god Zeus's children, sprung from an affair with the goddess Leto. His wife Hera, furious at her husband's infidelity, forbade Leto to give birth to her children on solid ground including islands at sea. To maneuver around this curse, Leto gave birth to both Artemis and her twin brother Apollo on Delos, a floating island suspended above the sea. Artemis was born first, and soon after her birth she aided her mother's delivery of Apollo. Some accounts dispute Artemis's role in her brother's birth and insist that the gods were born on Ortygia, not Delos. Greek mythology states that Artemis remained a virgin for her entire life, never marrying or producing children of her own.
Myths
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Many of the myths centering around Artemis reflect her volatile temper and unyielding personality. Her vengeance was primarily directed at men who raped or dishonored women, as was the case with the hunter Actaeon. Unwittingly the young man discovered Artemis and her party as they bathed in the woods, and their beauty entranced him. When Artemis discovered him, she flew into a rage and transformed him into a stag. Actaeon fled the scene, whereupon he was pursued and killed by his own hunting dogs. Disrespecting Artemis's hunting grounds was also a grave offense; when Agamemnon slaughtered a stag in a forest sacred to Artemis, the offended goddess stilled the winds and stranded Agamemnon's ships at sea. When Agamemnon sought to appease Artemis, she demanded that he sacrifice Iphigeneia, his daughter. Artemis was not entirely vengeful; some versions of the Iphigeneia myth have Artemis saving the girl and making her a priestess, while the myth of Orion has Artemis placing him in the stars after he is slain by the earth goddess Gaia for his hubris.
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Worship
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While she was revered as a goddess, Artemis did not command the same respect as more prominent gods like Zeus or Hera. However, ancient Greeks called upon Artemis as the protector against illness, the patron of wild animals and hunters and the guardian of girls who had not yet reached the age of marriage. As her brother Apollo was regarded as the god of the sun, Artemis is often referred to as the goddess of the moon. Given her quick temper and vengeful nature, many prayers directed to Artemis were preventative. Artemis could cause many of the disasters that she was asked to avert.
Symbols
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Traditionally Artemis is depicted wearing a draped, knee-length garment called a "chiton." Stags, hunting dogs and a bow and arrow are associated with Artemis and figure into many representations of her. Artemis is typically accompanied by a female bear, which some versions of the Artemis myth state is a former companion named Kallisto. The nymph was one of the virgins who served Artemis until she was seduced by Zeus, who took on the appearance of Artemis to trick the girl into yielding to him. Kallisto hid her liaison from Artemis until it was discovered that Kallisto was pregnant. Out of wrath for breaking her vow of chastity, Artemis transformed Kallisto into a bear. In some versions of the Artemis myth, it was Hera who was infuriated over Zeus's seduction, and Artemis changed Kallisto into a bear to stay her anger. In other tellings of the story, Artemis not only changes Kallisto into a bear but shoots and kills her as well.
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References
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