Artemis the Goddess of the Moon and Hunt
ARTEMIS was the great Olympian goddess of hunting, wilderness and wild animals. She was also a goddess of childbirth, and the protectress of the girl child up to the age of marriage. Her twin brother Apollon was similarly the protector of the boy child. Together the two gods were also bringers of sudden death and disease--Artemis targetted women and girls, and Apollon men and boys.
In ancient art Artemis was usually depicted as a girl dressed in a short knee-length chiton and equipped with a hunting bow and quiver of arrows.
Some of the best known myths featuring the goddess include:-- * Her birth, immediately following which she assisted her mother in the birth of her twin brother Apollon; * The Trojan War where she was beaten by Hera in an angry contest of the gods; * The hunter Aktaion who encountered the goddess whilst she was bathing and was turned into a stag; * The Aloadai giants who attempted to storm Olympos but were tricked by Artemis into killing each other; * The sacrifice of Iphigeneia whom King Agamemnon offered to her for the passage of the Greek fleet to Troy; * The giant Orion, a close companion of the goddess, who was slain by the goddess or her jealous brother; * The Kalydonian boar sent by Artemis to ravage Kaldyon; * The nymph Kallisto, a companion of Artemis, who was seduced by Zeus in the guise of the goddess.
This site contains a total of 15 pages describing the goddess, including general descriptions, mythology, and cult. The content is outlined in the table below. Quotes for these pages are still being compiled (see bottom of this page for status). ENCYCLOPEDIAARTEMIS, one of the great divinities of the Greeks. Her name is usually derived from artemês, uninjured, healthy, vigorous; according to which she would be the goddess who is herself inviolate and vigorous, and also grants strength and health to others. (Plat. Cratyl. p. 406, b. ; Strab. xiv. p. 635; Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 32, 577, 1732.) According
In ancient art Artemis was usually depicted as a girl dressed in a short knee-length chiton and equipped with a hunting bow and quiver of arrows.
Some of the best known myths featuring the goddess include:-- * Her birth, immediately following which she assisted her mother in the birth of her twin brother Apollon; * The Trojan War where she was beaten by Hera in an angry contest of the gods; * The hunter Aktaion who encountered the goddess whilst she was bathing and was turned into a stag; * The Aloadai giants who attempted to storm Olympos but were tricked by Artemis into killing each other; * The sacrifice of Iphigeneia whom King Agamemnon offered to her for the passage of the Greek fleet to Troy; * The giant Orion, a close companion of the goddess, who was slain by the goddess or her jealous brother; * The Kalydonian boar sent by Artemis to ravage Kaldyon; * The nymph Kallisto, a companion of Artemis, who was seduced by Zeus in the guise of the goddess.
This site contains a total of 15 pages describing the goddess, including general descriptions, mythology, and cult. The content is outlined in the table below. Quotes for these pages are still being compiled (see bottom of this page for status). ENCYCLOPEDIAARTEMIS, one of the great divinities of the Greeks. Her name is usually derived from artemês, uninjured, healthy, vigorous; according to which she would be the goddess who is herself inviolate and vigorous, and also grants strength and health to others. (Plat. Cratyl. p. 406, b. ; Strab. xiv. p. 635; Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 32, 577, 1732.) According