Artemis
Scholars have debated the linguistic origin of the name Artemis for centuries. R.S.P. Beekes suggested that the interchange between e and i in her name points to a pre-Greek source. This view finds support in the Lydian variant Artimus, which appears in historical records from the Hellenistic period. Georgios Babiniotis notes the Mycenaean attestation of the name as a-te-mi-to or a-ti-mi-te written in Linear B at Pylos. Some researchers propose a connection to the Greek word arktos meaning bear. This link gains weight from the existence of a bear cult in Attica known as Brauronia. Neolithic remains found in the Arkoudiotissa Cave further suggest ancient roots predating classical Greece. A precursor goddess named Britomartis was worshipped in Minoan Crete as the deity of mountains and hunting. The name may also derive from Persian roots like arta meaning great or holy. Ancient writers sometimes linked the name to artemos meaning butcher or artemes meaning safe and unharmed.
Conflicting accounts exist regarding the birthplace of Artemis and her twin brother Apollo. Most sources agree they were children of Zeus and Leto born from an extramarital liaison. Hera forbade Leto from giving birth on any solid land due to her anger over Zeus's infidelity. Only the island of Delos offered refuge allowing the twins to be born there. In one account Artemis is born first and then assists Leto in delivering her brother Apollo. The Homeric Hymn 3 to Apollo focuses solely on Apollo's birth while sidelining Artemis entirely. Pindar later speaks of a single pregnancy for both siblings. Homer and Hesiod confirm their status as full siblings but do not explicitly call them twins. Servius wrote that Artemis was born first because night comes before day. Some traditions claim the island where they were born was Ortygia rather than Delos. Leto took the infants to Lycia where she tried to bathe them in a spring. Local peasants stirred up mud in the water preventing the mother and children from drinking. Leto transformed the impious Lycians into frogs as punishment.
Artemis punishes hubris with swift and brutal consequences when mortals cross her boundaries. The hunter Actaeon stumbled upon the goddess bathing naked in a sacred grotto. He saw her without clothes and faced immediate transformation into a stag by her hand. His own hunting dogs did not recognize him and tore him apart in the woods. Ovid describes how fifty hounds devoured their master who could no longer speak or run. Euripides wrote that Actaeon claimed to be a better hunter than the goddess before his death. Diodorus Siculus records that Actaeon proposed marriage inside the temple itself. Another story involves Callisto daughter of Lycaon King of Arcadia. She was one of Artemis's attendants who took a vow of chastity. Zeus seduced her while disguised as Artemis during a hunting session. When Callisto became pregnant she hid it until bathing revealed her condition. Enraged Artemis transformed the girl into a bear. Callisto gave birth to her son Arcas in this animal form. Later hunters nearly killed the bear only for Zeus to place her among the stars as Ursa Major.
Young Athenian girls between five and ten years old served Artemis at the sanctuary of Brauron. They were known as arktoi meaning little she-bears during their year-long service. A myth explains this custom: a bear visited Brauron regularly until a girl teased it to its death. The bear's brothers killed the animal in revenge causing Artemis to send a plague upon the town. Girls dressed in saffron robes played at being bears to appease the angry goddess. The festival Elaphebolia celebrated on the sixth day of the month included cakes shaped like stags. In Sparta girls performed partheneia choral maiden songs honoring Artemis before marriage. The great temple at Ephesus stood as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World before burning down. Women dedicated clothing to sanctuaries after successful childbirth throughout the Classical era. Pregnant women often feared Artemis since deaths during labor were attributed to her arrows. Festivals like Mounikhia saw young girls dressed as bears to commemorate victories over Persians. The annual fire festival Laphria involved throwing live animals into flames at Patras.
Artemis halted the winds blowing Greek ships at Aulis stranding the fleet before departure for Troy. King Agamemnon had shot and killed her sacred deer in a grove while boasting he was superior. The seer Calchas advised that only the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia would appease the goddess. Most versions state Artemis snatched Iphigenia from the altar substituting a deer in her place. She supported the Trojans against the Greeks throughout the conflict. Her brother Apollo served as patron god of the city so she took his side naturally. During the theomachy Hera challenged Artemis to battle on the field of war. Hera grabbed Artemis by the wrists and beat her with her own bow. Crying Artemis left her weapons behind running to Zeus's knees to weep. Leto picked up the abandoned bow following her daughter back to Olympus. The goddess also killed the daughter of Bellerophon who had slain the monster Chimera. A scholium notes that Artemis represents the Moon opposing the air around Earth during these conflicts.
Bronze statues from Piraeus show Artemis holding a quiver with fingers positioned to hold a bow. Parian pottery from 675, 600 BCE depicts her as Mistress of Animals standing between animals. Attic red-figure lekythos circa 475 BCE shows her with golden shafts before an altar at Selinunte. Roman copies of Greek originals from the first or second centuries CE appear in museums like the Louvre. Frescoes from Pompeii between 62 CE and 79 CE depict sacrifices honoring Artemis accompanied by deer. Mosaics found in Volubolis Morocco show Diana and nymphs surprised by Actaeon. Vases from Vulci dated 510, 520 BCE illustrate Tityos trying to rape Leto while Apollo and Artemis defend her. Black-figure amphorae from 530, 520 BCE capture Heracles attempting to steal the Ceryneian Hind. These artifacts confirm her association with hunting gear including bows arrows and knives. The cypress tree remains sacred to her alongside the deer species found in Greece.
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Common questions
What is the linguistic origin of the name Artemis?
Scholars suggest the name Artemis has a pre-Greek source indicated by the interchange between e and i. The Lydian variant Artimus appears in historical records from the Hellenistic period. Some researchers propose a connection to the Greek word arktos meaning bear.
Where was Artemis born according to ancient sources?
Most sources agree that Artemis was born on the island of Delos because Hera forbade Leto from giving birth on any solid land. Some traditions claim the island where they were born was Ortygia rather than Delos. The Homeric Hymn 3 to Apollo focuses solely on Apollo's birth while sidelining Artemis entirely.
How did Artemis punish Actaeon for seeing her naked?
Artemis transformed Actaeon into a stag after he stumbled upon the goddess bathing naked in a sacred grotto. His own hunting dogs did not recognize him and tore him apart in the woods. Ovid describes how fifty hounds devoured their master who could no longer speak or run.
Why did young Athenian girls serve as arktoi at Brauron?
Young Athenian girls between five and ten years old served Artemis at the sanctuary of Brauron to appease an angry goddess following a plague. A myth explains this custom: a bear visited Brauron regularly until a girl teased it to its death. Girls dressed in saffron robes played at being bears during the festival Elaphebolia celebrated on the sixth day of the month.
What happened when Agamemnon killed Artemis's sacred deer?
Artemis halted the winds blowing Greek ships at Aulis stranding the fleet before departure for Troy because King Agamemnon had shot and killed her sacred deer. The seer Calchas advised that only the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia would appease the goddess. Most versions state Artemis snatched Iphigenia from the altar substituting a deer in her place.