Artemis
Goddess of Wildlife and Patroness of Hunters
Artemis
Goddess of hunting
Artemis looked like a young woman in clad buckskins, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows.
Zeus
Artemis's father.
Leto
Artemis's mother.
Apollo
Artemis's twin brother.
Nymphs
Artemis always traveled with a group of nymphs.
Stag
This is one of the animals that Artemis hunted, but also protected.
Birth
Artemis was born on the island of Ortygia. In stories, it was said that the day after she was born, she helped her mother travel across the straights of Delos. When they got there, she then helped deliver Apollo.
Activities
Artemis roamed mountain forests and uncultivated land with her nymphs, hunting for lions, hinds, and stags. Artemis was very skilled in shooting her bow and arrows. Her brother Apollo, challenged her skill by telling her to shoot an object far out at sea. Unfortunately Apollo set her up and she shot her good friend Orion in the eye, but this still proves her skill. Even though, Artemis hunted animals, she also helped protect them and their reproduction. Another of Artemis's skills was to help women deliver children, as she was very skilled in midwifery.
Values
Artemis valued her purity more than anything. She even asked her father, Zeus for purity for eternity. Artemis valued her chastity so much, that she took very extreme measures toward anybody who threatened it. Not only did she value her chastity, but she took the same amount of jealousy on her nymphs chastity. When Zeus seduced one of her nymphs Callisto and she gave birth to Arcas, Artemis changed her into a bear and then shot and killed her, showing no mercy. Another time, Artemis and her nymphs her bathing and Actaeon was out hunting. He stopped and gazed at them for a second and Artemis saw him. So, she turned him into a stag and his hunting dogs eventually chased him and killed him, thinking that she was just another stag.
Personality
Artemis was also a very complicated women. She was the most complex of the Olympian deities. She was:
- Compassionate but vengeful
- Nurturing but Destructive
- Pacific but bloody
Citations
Leadbetter, Ron. "Encyclopedia Mythica." : Greek Mythology. MMIX Ecyclopedia, 5 Nov. 2005. Web. 08 Nov. 2014.
Skidmore, Joel. "Artemis." Artemis. Mythweb, 2005. Web. 07 Nov. 2014.
Bell, Robert. Woman of Classic Mythology. N.p.: ABC-CLIO, n.d. Print.
GYMTH. "Artemis." EBSCOhost. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2005. <http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=9796ca63-45a0-4e09-ba56-bbf56687106f%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4201&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=lfh&AN=85537154>.