General Information

Romanus Dea, Graecus Dea

Artemis/Diana

Roman: Diana
Greek: Artemis

Parentage/Birth

Father = Zeus
Mother = Leto
Twin Brother = Apollo
Birth Location = Ortygia (Quail Island)

Zeus wife, Hera, was very upset that Leto was carrying her husbands children so she forbade Leto to take shelter anywhere on Earth, therefore hoping Leto would never be able to give birth. Leto wondered for some time and eventual found the floating island of Ortygia and was able to take shelter and give birth.

Artemis arrived first and had to assist her mother in the delivery of her twin brother, Apollo. So from the moment she was born Artemis saw the pain and suffering of childbirth as well as the magnificent end result. This is how she is explained as both a goddess of chastity and of child-bearing.

Goddess of:

wild animals, the hunt, domestic animals, fertility, moon, lower classes (slaves), wilderness, children, powerless, chastity, birth, maiden dance, song, sudden death, disease

Physical Characteristics:

tall, lovely, small hips, high forehead

Symbols:

bow, quiver, hound, deer, arrows, spear, stags, dogs, crescent moon, torch

Spouse(s)/Offspring:

None (Artemis/Diana was a virgin goddess - never married, never a mother. However it should be noted that she helped raise her brother, Apollo, and played a motherly role to her companions, the nymphs.)

Additional Details:

*Places of Worship:
1. Grove of Diana Nemorensis ("Diana of the Wood"), Shores of Lake Nemi at Aricia, near Rome
2. Temple of Diana, on the Aventine
3. Temple of Diana at Ephesus


*Also associated with:
- Selene (Goddess of the Moon)
- Bendis (Thracian Goddess)
- Bastet (Egyptian Goddess)
- Perasia (Cappadocian Goddess)
- Tauria (Taurian Goddess)


*Many minor cults dedicated to her worship. The Amazons were also heavily influenced by her and worshiped her/were friends with her.


*Daddy's Girl
1. Asked for bow and arrows so she and Apollo could
hunt together.
2. Asked for a band of nymphs for companions
3. Asked to stay young forever and never have to marry

Some major myths:

The Myth of Orion

" Artemis' beloved hunting companion Orion, foolishly boasted that he would slay all the beasts of the earth. Gaia (the Earth) sent forth a scorpion to slay him, and when he fell, the grief-stricken Artemis placed him amongst the stars as the constellation Orion."

The Myth of Aktaion:

"Artemis transformed the hunter Aktaion into a stag, to be torn apart by his own hounds, as punishment for spying on her whilst she bathed."

The Myth of Niobe:

"Artemis and Apollon slew the seven sons and seven daughters of Niobe as punishment for her arrogant boasts that she was superior in motherhood to their own mother Leto."

The Myth of Iphigeneia:

"The goddess sent storms to prevent the Greek fleet from sailing for Troy as punishment for Agamemnon's foolish boasts that he surpassed the goddess in hunting. To appease her wrath he offered his daughter up as sacrifice. The goddess snatched her away before the killing blow was felled and substituted a deer."

Note: Some versions tell that Iphigeneia was actually killed as a sacrifice to the goddess and was not saved by her.

All myth summaries taken from http://www.theoi.com/Summary/Artemis.html for their excellent clarity and brevity. No copyright infringement or plagiarism is intended.

"Free! In the green, in the gladwood leaping like a deer who fears no hunter. There I will dance with no men watching, There I will find wisdom written in the forest shadows. Is there any gift greater than feeling such joy?"
- Song of a Maenad from "Bacchae", by Euripides