Greek Mythology: Artemis

                  Greek Mythology: Artemis

Introduction

Hello! Welcome back to another article in the Greek mythology series! I’m glad that people enjoyed the last one I made and I want to thank everyone for their comments. A person requested that I make an article on this goddess so here I am! 

Artemis’ Introduction 

Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, the moon, chastity, and wild animals. Artemis is also strongly associated with childbirth and nature. She’s one of the only gods who hasn’t given birth to children. Artemis has a group of attendants that help her. 

Family

As I said before, the Greek mythology family tree is complicated so this is a simplified version. Artemis’ father is Zeus who I talked a little about in my previous article. For a quick recap he’s the god of the sky and weather. He’s also the king of the gods. Artemis’ mother is Leto and Leto is a titan. Artemis has a twin brother called Apollo. Apollo is the god of a lot of things so if you want me to list them all you could ask me to do an article on him. Artemis’ grandfather is Cronus (Zeus’ dad) and her grandmother is Rhea (Zeus’ mom). Artemis also has another grandfather named Coeus (Leto’s father) and another grandmother named Phoebe (Leto’s mother). 

Personality 

Artemis is very feminist. She doesn’t really like men and is biased towards them. Despite this there are several myths about her helping men so she’s not completely against them. She took a sacred vow to always remain chaste and takes that vow very seriously. Chaste means to not do anything involving sex, that includes kissing someone romantically. The vow she took basically means that she will never engage in anything sexual. All of her followers take this vow as well and she holds them to it harshly. If they ever break it they will be punished. On the flip side she rewards those who uphold the vow. She is serious, decisive, and has a fiery temper. She is also protective of her followers and those she holds dear.   

Appearance

Everyone pretty much agrees on what Artemis looks like. She is commonly depicted as a young, beautiful, and vigorous huntress. She usually has a quiver of arrows on her back and holds a bow. She wears a knee-high tunic and is sometimes shown to have an animal accompanying her. Since she’s a moon goddess every once in a while someone shows her wearing a long robe with a crescent moon crown.  

Powers

Artemis has all the usual powers a god or goddess does. One of her special powers is that she has perfect aim with a bow. Another one is that she can shapeshift herself and others into animals (sometimes she shapeshifts mortals into animals as a punishment). A power you might be surprised to find out she has is that she can heal and control diseases.   

Symbols 

Based on what I’ve told you so far, Artemis’ symbols probably won’t surprise you. One of her symbols is the bow and arrows (that makes sense considering she is the goddess of hunting), the stags (which also makes sense because sometimes she is depicted with one), the hunting dog, and, perhaps the most unsurprising one, the moon.   

Conclusion 

Well, if you’ve made it to the end of the article I hope you enjoyed and learned something new. If you have suggestions on what Greek mythology figure I should do next, please put it in the comments! Remember, I can do any Greek mythology figure, I don’t have to keep doing gods/goddesses. See you in the next article, bye!

Citation List:

“Artemis Retinue.” ARTEMIS RETINUE – Greek Mythology, https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ArtemisAttendants.html.

“Leto.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/Leto. 

“🏹 Artemis :: Greek Goddess of the Hunt and the Moon.” Greek Mythology, https://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Artemis/artemis.html.