|
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
Artemis |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
| Artemis is the daughter of Leto and Zeus, and also Apollo's twin sister. Artemis is the goddess of the night, the moon and the hunt, and also protects women during child birth. Artemis rides in a silver chariot pulled by four white horses. She also had a silver bow and arrow, a pack of hounds, 20 wood nymphs, and 20 water nymphs. She has great hunting skill, and roams the countryside looking for a target worthy of her skill. The deer, goose and wild dogs are her sacred animals. Myths show that she was aloof and free-spirited, not constrained by husband or hearth, and this is reflected in the fact that she remained eternally a virgin. Indeed, those who in some way compromised her strict requirements for chastity were severely punished by the maiden goddess. There are several tales that describe the swift and terrible retribution of Artemis, and one of the most revealing involves the youth Actaeon... The myth of Artemis and Actaeon According to one version of the story, Actaeon was a young man fond of the hunt and of spending his time haunting the forests, searching for game. One day, while on a hunting expedition, he happened to catch a glimpse of Artemis as she bathed nude and cavorted with her female companions in a lake. No doubt, Actaeon was taken aback by the beauty of the goddess, and made some sound that gave away his illicit presence. Artemis, startled, noticed the youth, and immediately her wrath at being seen in such a state by a mortal man caused her to react with fury: she transformed the unfortunate Actaeon into a stag. Actaeon's hounds, blinded with lust for this new prey, pounced upon their master and tore him apart, thus ending the life of the unlucky man. And Artemis had her revenge... Among the rural populace, Artemis was the favourite goddess. Her character and function varied greatly from place to place, but, apparently, behind all forms lay the goddess of wild nature, who danced, usually accompanied by nymphs, in mountains, forests, and marshes. Artemis embodied the sportsman's ideal, so besides killing game she also protected it, especially the young; this was the Homeric significance of the title Mistress of Animals. The worship of Artemis probably flourished in Crete or on the Greek mainland in pre-Hellenic times. Many of Artemis' local cults, however, preserved traces of other deities, often with Greek names, suggesting that, upon adopting her, the Greeks identified Artemis with nature divinities of their own. While the mythological roles of other prominent Olympians evolved in the works of the poets, the lore of Artemis developed primarily from cult. Dances of maidens representing tree nymphs (dryads) were especially common in Artemis' worship as goddess of the tree cult, a role especially popular in the Peloponnese. Throughout the Peloponnese, bearing such epithets as Limnaea and Limnatis (Lady of the Lake), Artemis supervised waters and lush wild growth, attended by nymphs of wells and springs (naiads). In parts of the peninsula her dances were wild and lascivious. Outside the Peloponnese, Artemis' most familiar form was as Mistress of Animals. Poets and artists usually pictured her with the stag or hunting dog, but the cults showed considerable variety. For instance, the Tauropolia festival at Halae Araphenides in Attica honoured Artemis Tauropolos (Bull Goddess), who received a few drops of blood drawn by sword from a man's neck. "Virginal maidens such as Maira and Kallisto may have taken part in Artemis' chaste band of huntresses, but once they explored their sexuality, willingly or unwillingly, they became the targets of Artemis' arrows in the manner of young animals old enough to be hunted....Once any of her virginal companions indulged in sexuality, however, Artemis immediately regarded them as prey...." She was even associated with human sacrifice. There are two versions of the sacrifice of the maiden Iphigenia to appease Her anger. In one version, Iphigenia went gladly to her death; in the other, she did not. As the sacrificial knife plunged toward her, she vanished, and a mountain deer appeared on the altar and was stabbed in her place. Then she was transported to a mystic island of women, who sacrificed all men who came upon its shores, and lived out her life there. Women in labor might pray to Her for death, and She often answered such prayers. The deaths of adolescent girls in childbirth were attributed to Her. "The summits of the high mountains tremble, and the shady forest holds the frightened cries of the beasts of the woods; the earth trembles, as well as the seas, filled with fish. The goddess of the valiant heart springs forth on all sides, and sows death among the race of wild animals." Magically: Call on Artemis whenever you feel in need of her protective energy or to stand up for your rights as a woman. She will also help in childbirth, and in communing with the animals of the woodlands. |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
| LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE FOR ARTEMIS HERE | |||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
Return to the Moon Page Ask LaughingKoala a question |
|||||||||||||||||
