Artemis

Greek Goddess of the hunt and of childbirth and chastity; also associated with the moon; daughter of Zeus and Leto; sister of Apollo; one of the Olympian gods. Her origins are very old, probably derived from the Earth Mother mythologies. She is identified with Diana in Roman mythology. Artemis was armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows made by the smith god, Hephaestus. Like Apollo, she had many sides to her nature—she could be wild and destructive with her arrows; she could cause deadly disease in animals. Artemis was a deity of sudden death. On the other hand, Artemis could be benevolent: with ilithya, she was helpful to women in childbirth. Like Apollo, Artemis loved music, song, and dancing. Artemis was worshiped throughout Greece, especially in Arcadia, and also in Crete, Asia Minor, and Magna Graecia. Artemis, the Vengeful One Artemis was not only pure and virginal herself; she punished any of her attendant Nymphs who fell in love and she punished any man who approached her or her nymphs with amorous intent. After Zeus fell in love with Callisto, who bore him a son, Arcas, Artemis grew angry at her departure from chastity. Artemis changed Callisto into a shebear. Acteon, a hunter, saw Artemis bathing and gazed at her with admiration. Outraged, Artemis changed Acteon into a stag, then set his own pack of hounds upon him; they tore him to pieces. The Aloeids, two giants who were determined to overthrow the Olympian Gods, swore to capture both Hera and Artemis. In one legend, Artemis turned herself into a white doe and pranced between the brothers. The Aloeids aimed their darts at the doe and inadvertently killed each other, and thus were punished for lusting after the goddesses. Niobe, the mother of 12 children, was foolish enough to boast that she was superior to Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis, who had borne only two children. Enraged, Apollo and Artemis killed all Niobe's children. When Artemis at last fell in love, it was with Orion, another great hunter. One day Orion went swimming and swam so far from shore that his head looked like a rock in the sea. Jealous of his sister's love for Orion, or perhaps wanting to preserve his sister's chastity, Apollo challenged Artemis to hit the rock with her arrow. The arrow of Artemis pierced Orion's head, killing him. Another legend says that Artemis sent a scorpion to sting Orion, as a punishment for having gazed upon her amorously. See also "The Birth of Apollo" under Apollo