Artemis was a virgin goddess associated with purity and was considered the Greek goddess of the hunt and wilderness and the patroness of wild animals and nature. Despite her chaste nature, she is also associated with childbirth and the care of children, as well as disease and healing. Artemis was sometimes considered the personification of the moon.
Parentage of Birth of Artemis
Counted among the 12 Olympians, Artemis was the daughter of Zeus with the Titan Leto and the twin sister of the sun god Apollo. Zeus’ wife Hera was enraged when she learned that Leto was pregnant by her husband, and therefore, she forbade Leto from giving birth anywhere on land. Consequently, Leto was turned away everywhere she went until the island of Delos agreed to give her refuge.
Artemis was reportedly firstborn and then assisted Leto in the birth of her brother Apollo. This is the source of her association with childbirth and child-rearing. Interestingly, she shared this domain with Hera, and the goddess Eileithyia, a daughter of Zeus and Hera.
The Huntress
Artemis is one of the three main virgin goddesses in Greek mythology, the others being Athena and Hestia. This suited her lifestyle as a wild huntress, living in the wilderness with her band of nymphs, who were also chaste. Some legends suggest that she was the first nymph, who emerged as the goddess of nature. She represents the ideal of a free woman who needs no man, though mortal women who tried to live this lifestyle were not well-respected in ancient Greece.
Artemis guarded her chastity with great care and could wreak heavy vengeance on anyone who threatened her chosen virginity. According to one myth, a hunter called Actaeon saw the goddess bathing naked, which angered her. Artemis transformed him into a deer, and he was eaten by his hunting dogs. Other versions of the story suggest that his transgression may have been more serious, including trying to force himself upon Artemis in marriage. This is only one of several men that she smote for making attempts on her chastity.
Artemis was equally hard-nosed when it came to the loyalty and chastity of her band of nymphs. In another story, one of her nymphs, Callisto, was discovered to have broken her vow of chastity when she was impregnated by Zeus. Artemis transformed her into a bear as punishment. She was closely associated with the bear, which was often involved in her worship. She reportedly demanded this after some of her followers killed a bear for mauling a young woman, demanding that young girls “act the bear” in her rituals in atonement for the bear’s death.
Artemis was known for her wrathful nature, and she seemed to prefer the company of animals to people, who she considered fickle and untrustworthy. She sent a man named Broteas mad when he refused to honor her, causing him to walk into a fire, since he had previously claimed that nothing could hurt him, including fire.
Along with her brother Apollo, she also took revenge on Niobe of Thebes when she claimed to be a better mother than Leto due to her extreme fecundity. Apollo reportedly killed all six or seven of Niobe’s sons, while Artemis killed her daughters, one by one in front of the queen.
Symbols of Artemis
According to the story of the Trojan War, Artemis supported the Trojans against the Greeks. It was Artemis who halted the winds blowing the Greek fleet and stranded it in Aulis after Agamemnon shot and killed one of her sacred deer. In recompense, Artemis demanded that Agamemnon sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia, which he did. But as she was being led to the altar, Artemis took pity on her and whisked her away.
Throughout the epics, she is emphasized as a goddess of the hunt, often called “she who shoots arrows.” The bow and arrow, and also the quiver, were principal among her attributes. She was also associated with the chariot. She was linked with many animals, but especially the deer, bear, and hunting dogs.
She seems to have been worshipped in pre-Greek times by the Minoans, though we know very little about her character and cult during this period. She may have been conceived as in the shape of a bear, but animal gods were no longer common by the time of the Greeks.
Worship of Artemis
Artemis was one of the most popular and widely worshipped gods in Greece. Many Greek communities named months in the year after the goddess, whose festival was celebrated in Spring. There is literary and archaeological evidence of many temples, altars, and shrines dedicated to her worship. One of the most famous was her great temple at Ephesus, which was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. She also had a famous temple on Delos, her place of birth, in Attika, and Sparta, where she received sacrifices at the start of every new military campaign.
In pre-Greek times, it was customary to throw live animals into the fire as a sacrifice to Artemis. In some areas, exotic dancers were used in Artemis’ festivals and wore famous masks.
Her temples were often erected near springs, rivers, and marshes, especially in the Peloponnese region, suggesting a clear association with fresh water. Temples were also sometimes placed near holy trees.
Artemis as Diana
Among the Romans, Artemis was known as Diana, and as well as a rural goddess associated with the wilderness, she was a lunar goddess. This paired her with her brother Apollo, who was associated with the sun and light. They had many other parallels, both being associated with music and dance and also the power to inflict disease and heal.
The lunar aspect of Artemis among the Greeks was not as strong, as the moon was associated with Selene, but the association became strong with the Romans, who also associated Apollo more closely with the sun than the Greeks. As a result, in the Roman world, Artemis became a common feature in sacred groves, which were also linked to Hecate, who, among other things, was the guardian of crossroads and liminal spaces. Consequently, Artemis, Selene, and Hecate started to emerge as a triple goddess, playing off the tripartite nature of Hecate.
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