Artemis (deity)

Symbols: Bow and quiver of arrows; stag

Culture: Greco-Roman

Mother: Leto

Father: Zeus

Siblings: Apollo; Ares; Athena; Aphrodite; Hermes; Dionysus; Hebe; Persephone; Perseus; Herakles; Helen of Troy

Artemis was one of the twelve principal gods of Olympus in Greek mythology. She was the goddess of wild animals, hunting, and forests. She was also the goddess of childbirth and fertility. She was a virgin goddess whose followers were also expected to remain virgins.

Artemis’s mo-ther was the Titaness Leto, and her father was the supreme god, Zeus. Artemis had a twin brother, Apollo, who was the god of music and light. He was associated with the sun, and Artemis was associated with the moon. They were both protectors of the young—Artemis of girls and wildlife, and Apollo of boys. They were both healers who could also bring sudden death and disease.

Artemis’s father, Zeus, had many lovers who bore him children. Artemis had both mortal and immortal half-siblings. The immortals included Ares, Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite, Hermes, Dionysus, Hebe, and Persephone. The mortals included Perseus, Herakles (sometimes spelled Hercules or Heracles), and Helen of Troy.

Artemis was known by many other names, including Cynthia and Selene. Cynthia referred to the goddess’s birthplace on Mount Cynthus in Delos. Selene was the name of the moon goddess. Artemis is identified with the Roman goddess Diana and also with the Egyptian goddess Bastet.

Artemis was usually depicted as a young maiden in a short tunic who was carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. She was often accompanied by a hunting dog. She was shown driving a chariot pulled by four horned deer.

All animals were sacred to her—but especially deer, bears, and guinea fowl. Her sacred tree was the cypress. The walnut tree and the amaranth flower were also associated with her.

In Mythology

Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Leto. Titans were the giants who ruled the heavens before Zeus and his allies defeated them. When Leto was pregnant, Zeus’s wife Hera chased her across the land. Leto experienced no labor pains when Artemis was born on the island of Delos. This birth without pain was one reason why Artemis was the goddess of childbirth. The other reason was that she helped her mother give birth to Artemis’s twin brother, Apollo.

Artemis lived on Mount Olympus with the other major gods and goddesses, but she spent much of her time hunting. As a child, she asked Zeus for several things: She wanted many names, she always wanted be a virgin, she wanted to have attendants, and she wanted to use a bow and arrow. Zeus granted her wishes. Some myths say she obtained her bow from Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods, and some say the bow came from the Cyclops. It is variously gold or silver.

Artemis insisted that her followers be virgins like she was. When one, a nymph named Callisto, became pregnant by Zeus, Artemis shot her with an arrow. Another version of the myth says that Artemis turned Callisto into a bear, but then Zeus placed the transformed nymph in the heavens as the Great Bear constellation. He made her child the Little Bear constellation.

Artemis was said to have loved a huntsman named Orion. When she thought he loved someone else, she shot him with an arrow. He was placed in the heavens as a constellation. Other versions of the story say that Artemis had a scorpion sting him or perhaps that the scorpion was sent by someone else. The scorpion joined Orion in the heavens as the constellation Scorpius.

When a young man named Actaeon accidentally saw Artemis bathing in a pool, she changed him into a stag, and his own hounds killed him. The ancients may have seen the angry and vengeful side of Artemis as the wild, stormy side of nature.

Animals were sacred to Artemis. She was often called the Mistress of Animals. When the hero Agamemnon killed one of her stags, she stopped the winds that he needed to sail his ships to Troy. He was told that he had to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, if he wanted to have the winds restored. Some versions of the myth say he killed his daughter; others say that Artemis saved Iphigenia at the last minute and replaced her with a deer.

The mortal woman Niobe boasted that she was superior to Artemis’s mother Leto because she had more children than the Titaness. In another version, Niobe said that her children were more beautiful than those of Leto. Artemis and Apollo were furious with the mortal woman for her boasts, and so they hunted Niobe’s children with bows and arrows. Artemis killed the girls, and Apollo killed the boys.

Origins and Cults

Artemis was worshipped in many places and in many forms. The worship of Artemis probably began in Greece prior to 500 BCE. In the southern Greek peninsula of the Peloponnese, maidens pretending to be dryads, or tree nymphs, danced to celebrate their worship of the goddess as a tree deity. There were also Peloponnesian shrines to her as a bear goddess and a goddess of the lakes. She also had an important cult on the island of Delos.

Artemis was considered the patron goddess of Crete. She was worshipped in her huntress form and was similar to a local goddess called Britomartis.

In the city of Ephesus, Artemis was worshipped as a fertility goddess. King Croesus built a huge temple to Artemis in 356 BCE. The Temple of Artemis is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The temple, also known as the Artemisium, was famous for both its size and for its works of art. It was destroyed in 362 CE and was never rebuilt.

A famous statue of Artemis stood in the Artemisium, but only copies remain. Archaeologists have unearthed the copies from many sites. Some believe the original was made of wood; others believe it was made of gold and silver. The copies are often made of marble but are not identical. However, all show Artemis in her persona as a fertility goddess. She stands in a rigid posture wearing a round headdress and a robe covered with animals. Round objects cover her lower chest. Some believe these objects represent breasts, but others believe they are the testicles of sacrificial bulls.

Bibliography

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