The Myth Of Artemis, The Goddess Of Nature

The myth of Artemis is one of the oldest in Greece. Here we are talking about one of the most venerable goddesses in antiquity, and one who represents a confident and active form of female figure. Therefore, it was more typical for women to celebrate in honor of this goddess. Men who wanted to attend her celebration were actually punished.

In the myth of Artemis, two facets of the goddess appear. One is of a woman who does not tolerate contact with men and avoids their presence. The other is the hunter. She is the goddess of hunting, who walks in the fields with a loose dress and who is always surrounded by animals. It is interesting that she is an animal lover, and yet at the same time is for hunting.

There are several stories in mythology that contain this goddess, and they are almost always about her making sure that her domains are respected. The only male figure that has any relevance in the myth of Artemis is Orion. While some sources say that she loved him, others see him only as a hunting buddy who participates in adventures with her.

The Myth of Artemis: The Origin

As with other characters, there are several versions of the myth of Artemis. However, all of them say that she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto. The latter was the daughter of two titans, and Zeus took her for himself. However, he had previously tried to rape her sister, who turned into a sparrow to flee from the god.

Zeus’ wife Hera discovered the romance between her husband and Leto. She also knew that Leto was pregnant. Thus, she decided to pursue her mercilessly, making sure that no one helped her. That’s how she managed to get her to a desert island for her to give birth. Furthermore, she forbade the daughter Eileithyia, the goddess of birth, to take care of Leto at that time.

Because of this, Leto was in great pain, and the birth was delayed for nine days. After this, the gods were moved by her suffering and let Artemis be born and Leto’s newborn daughter help her mother give birth to her twin brother, Apollo.

Artemis’ wishes

The myth of Artemis tells that when the goddess was only three years old, she asked her father, Zeus, to fulfill his nine wishes. She asked him to:

• always remain a virgin
• have many names
• be the “light source”
• have a bow and arrows
• wear a tunic down to the knees
• have a choir of sixty daughters of Okeanos, all nine years old
• have 20 nymphs as maids to take care of her
• rule over the mountains
• be able to help women in the pain of childbirth

All these wishes were fulfilled, and Artemis spent his childhood learning the art of hunting and preparing to live in the woods. She became very protective of her domain and impossible for those who entered her country or dared to challenge her virtues.

One of the most famous stories is Aktaion. He was a Thebener who without meaning to saw the goddess naked in a river while hunting. Although the nymphs hurried to cover her, they did not succeed in time. Artemis became very angry at this intrusion, and turned Aktaion into a deer and stirred up his own dogs to tear him to death.

The myth of Artemis, the loveless goddess

Legend has it that Orion became her hunting companion, and that he accompanied Artemis on her excursions in the woods for long periods. Apollo planned a ploy to get rid of him for fear that Orion would take his sister’s virginity. He told the earth goddess Gaia that Orion was a vain and proud hunter. Then she sent a scorpion to kill him.

To try to get away from the scorpion, Orion began to swim to an island. Meanwhile, Apollo told Artemis that the person who fled from her was a stranger who had tried to rape one of her nymphs. He then encouraged her to shoot one of her arrows at him. She did, and hit, and Orion died. When she realized she had killed Orion, she asked her father to turn him into a constellation.

Many men and gods wanted to have Artemis as their wife, but she did not give in to this desire of any of them. She had to attack several of them personally with her arrows or with the help of animals. For example, Cypriots, who wanted to rape her, were turned into a girl.

We hope you enjoyed this insight into the myth of Artemis. Why not click on the article below for another fascinating story?