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Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, known as the "Diana of Versailles", as exhibited in the Louvre Museum, Paris, France. 2nd century CE copied from a Greek original dating to 330 BCE.
Jan is the Founder and CEO of World History Encyclopedia. He holds an MA War Studies from King's College, and he has worked in the field of history-related digital media since 2006.
Greco Roman Deities: Artemis Of Ephesus 2
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Crabben, Jan van der. "Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 04 Mar 2019. Web. 27 Apr 2023.Artemis was the Greek goddess of the hunt, nature, and wild animals. She was typically regarded as one of the major Olympians, numbered among the so-called “Twelve Gods.”
Artemis Statue Marble Hi Res Stock Photography And Images
In art and literature, Artemis was often imagined hunting in the forest with her bow. While her twin brother Apollo represented reason and order, Artemis signified the wilder and more untamed aspects of human and natural life.
Artemis, like her twin brother Apollo, was born from the union of the supreme god Zeus and the goddess Leto. She was most likely born on the island of Delos (though some sources placed her birth on a different island nearby). Delos later became the site of one of Apollo’s most important sanctuaries.
Artemis’ most recognizable attribute was probably her bow, though she was sometimes shown with other weapons as well. She was generally depicted clad in a short hunter’s tunic. Artemis’ entourage included nymphs and woodland animals such as deer and bears.
Temple Of Artemis At Ephesus
Artemis was notoriously protective of her chastity. One well-known myth told of how the Theban prince Actaeon was out hunting in the woods when he stumbled upon Artemis bathing in a stream. Horrified that a mortal man had seen her naked, Artemis transformed the unfortunate Actaeon into a deer. Actaeon’s hunting dogs promptly turned on him and, failing to recognize their master, tore him apart.
Speculation over the etymology of the name “Artemis” began in antiquity. In Cratylus, Plato traced the name’s origins to the Greek word artemēs, meaning “pure” or “unblemished.”
Though this is a tempting theory—the words are similar, and the quality of purity nicely captures Artemis’ nature—it is most likely too neat to be true. Most scholars and linguists today regard Plato’s interpretation as a folk etymology.
Artemis, Diana, Athena, Minerva Stock Image
The search for the origins of Artemis’ name are made even more difficult by the fact that there is no clear consensus on how old it is. Some scholars have suggested that the name “Artemis” appears in the first Greek texts, equating the goddess of the hunt with a-te-mi-to or a-te-mi-te in the Linear B script (the writing system in use ca. 1600–1100 BCE, prior to the development of the Greek alphabet). If this is correct, it would mean that Artemis was known and worshipped in Greece from the earliest times. However, it is still disputed whether Artemis and a-te-mi-to/a-te-mi-te refer to the same entity.
While there is no widely agreed-upon etymology for “Artemis, ” several hypotheses have nevertheless gained popularity. According to some, Artemis’ name is related to the Greek word arktos, meaning “bear” (from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos). Indeed, Artemis was closely associated with a bear cult in Attica and was often depicted alongside bears (as well as a number of other animals, such as deer, boars, and hunting dogs).
The Roman counterpart of Artemis was called Diana. Artemis was sometimes also referred to as Phoebe by both the Greeks and Romans, though this did not become a common alternative name or epithet until a relatively late historical period.
Artemis Greek Goddess Hi Res Stock Photography And Images
Artemis was sometimes identified with other deities, especially Hecate (a goddess of boundaries and witchcraft) and Eileithyia (the goddess of childbirth). “Hecate” and “Eileithyia” were also among the epithets of Artemis. Later on—that is, during the Hellenistic period (323 BCE–31 BCE) and Imperial period (after 31 BCE), Artemis was increasingly identified with the moon and the moon goddess Selene.
Among Artemis’ most important epithets were agrotera (“she of the hunt”), keladeinē (“strong-voiced”), and parthenos (“virgin”). Like her brother Apollo, Artemis also boasted many epithets relating to archery. These included hekatēbolos and hekatē (“far-shooter”), hekaergē (“far-worker”), and iocheaira (“she of the showering arrows”). Artemis also had many epithets related to her ritual functions or places of worship, such as Delia (“Delian, ” referring to the island where she and Apollo were born), sōteira (“savior”), phōsphoros (“bringer of light”), and eileithyia (in her capacity as a goddess of childbirth).
Artemis offered something for nearly everyone. Among hunters and rustics, she was the source of cyclic growth. It was she who controlled the rhythms of nature and the whims of the creatures in it. For maidens and the young, she was a beacon of innocence and chastity. For mothers, she was a symbol of fecundity and health, as well as a midwife to their babies (just like Eileithyia, with whom she was sometimes conflated).
Artemis And Wild Girls
Artemis also presided over initiation rites and the passage of females (but also males) from one life stage to another (childhood to adulthood, virginity to marriage, marriage to parenthood, etc.).
Artemis herself was a virgin goddess, in many ways more mannish than effeminate. She was known to roam the mountains and forests in search of game. In art, Artemis was often shown wearing a short hunter’s tunic and carrying a bow or spear. Her entourage was made up of nymphs and wild animals.
Artemis’ symbols included her weapons and hunting gear (the bow and arrow or the spear); her sacred animals, such as deer, boar, and bears; and her sacred plants, such as the cypress and palm. In later art and literature, Artemis came to be associated with the moon (complementing her brother Apollo, associated with the sun).
Artemis Goddess Of The Hunt Digital Art By Shanina Conway
The common representation of Artemis is as a young, beautiful virgin, clad for the hunt. There is one important local variation, however. At Ephesus (a Greek city on the coast of modern Turkey), Artemis was identified with a fertility goddess called either the “Lady of Ephesus” or the “Artemis of Ephesus.” The cult statues of this Artemis were very different from those of the more familiar Artemis, showing the goddess decked out in elaborate jewelry, headdress, and—most striking of all—with small ovals covering her upper body. These ovals seem to have symbolized fertility; they have been variously interpreted as breasts, eggs, or scrotal sacs.
Statue of the "Artemis of Ephesus" type (second century CE). The head, hands, and feet are a modern restoration by Giuseppe Valadier.
The birth of Artemis and Apollo was full of the drama that so characterized Greek mythology. Artemis’ mother, Leto—herself the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe—was one of Zeus’ many lovers. When she became pregnant by Zeus, he was already married to his sister Hera, who was notoriously prone to jealousy.
Great Is The Artemis Of The Ephesians!'
True to form, Leto’s condition aroused Hera’s fury, and Hera threatened any person or land that harbored Leto. According to some traditions, Hera even sent her son Ares to pursue Leto as she wandered through the world looking for a place to give birth.
Abandoned by the gods, Leto continued wandering until she found shelter on a tiny and forgotten island called Delos. There Leto readied to have her twins, but Hera was not yet done with her. When Leto went into labor, Hera prevented Eileithyia, her daughter and the goddess of midwifery, from attending to Leto. After a long and painful labor (which lasted as many as nine days, according to some sources), Leto managed to give birth to the brilliant twins Artemis and Apollo.
In some traditions, Artemis was the first of the twins to be born and actually helped her mother give birth to Apollo.
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Though most ancient sources agreed that Apollo and Artemis were both born on Delos, there were other versions circulating in antiquity. Some claimed that Artemis’ true birthplace was
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