Artemis
Ἄρτεμις
Also known as: Of the Wild Margins, Lady of the Hunt, Mistress of Animals
God of: the hunt, wilderness, wild animals, and chastity
Patron of: hunters, young women, and childbirth (paradoxically, given her own virginity)
Character
Swift, solitary, and utterly unforgiving of trespass, Artemis moves through the wild margins of the world as its fiercest guardian — and its most exacting judge for anyone who violates its rules or her own.
Earning Favor
Artemis favors those who hunt with respect for the wild rather than greed against it, who honor a fair chase, and who protect rather than exploit the untamed places. She is unforgiving toward those who kill for sport alone or violate sacred groves.
Notable Relationships
- Twin brother — Apollo
- Father — Zeus; mother — Leto
- Companions — a retinue of virgin nymph-huntresses
Anecdote
The hunter Actaeon stumbled upon Artemis bathing in a forest spring, an accidental trespass that earned no mercy: she transformed him into a stag on the spot, and his own hunting hounds — not recognizing their master — tore him apart. The myth is blunt about the lesson: Artemis's wilderness has laws, and ignorance of them is no defense.
Emblem & Companions
The silver bow and quiver, and a chariot drawn by golden-horned stags.
Real-World Sites
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; and Brauron, near Athens, where young girls served her in ritual before marriage.
Appears In
- The Boar of CalydonThe boar's rampage is her punishment for a slighted sacrifice; she marks oath-breakers among the hunters.
- The Ford of Twin SpearsCo-patron (with Ares) of the shrine that dispatches the party; her curse protects the sacred ford-stone.