Greek gods Artemis. Artemis

In Greek mythology, gods and heroes are central characters. The gods occupy a separate place - in those days paganism flourished, and each city-polis of the country, each region worshiped its patron god, and in general - the entire pantheon. Their head was Zeus the Thunderer, his children were also deities. One of them, the favorite of the people, is Artemis. It will be discussed below.

Young goddess of the hunt

Artemis was the eternally young goddess of hunting, chastity, fertility. Although, it would seem, these things are absolutely incompatible. She is the sister of the god Apollo, the patron of the arts and the personification of the Sun (subsequently, Artemis became the personification of the Moon). The history of her birth and early years is rather convoluted and largely unknown. It is believed that the goddess was born on the island of Delos and was the eldest child of Zeus and the Titanides Leto (Latona).

A few minutes later, her twin brother Apollo was born (this is a clear example of the great love of Zeus, who did not hesitate to constantly go “to the left” with his wife Hera), and Artemis herself helped her mother to resolve the burden.

In many sources, Artemis appears as a kind goddess who patronizes marriage and the successful birth of children. This, of course, is true, but not entirely. Artemis could also punish, and it won’t seem a little. The wrath of the goddess was terrible. No wonder the entomology of her name is “bear goddess”. Yes, and the "profession" obliges - hunting was the main occupation of Artemis. Punishment for disobedience or wrongdoing followed immediately. For example, a severe punishment befell the hunter Actaeon, who spied on Artemis when she was swimming in the river.

As punishment, she turned him into a deer, and Actaeon was torn to pieces by mad dogs. Artemis zealously defended herself and her family. Queen Niobe, who had 7 sons and 7 daughters, once inadvertently spoke about the mother of Artemis and Apollo and boasted to her of the number of children. The revenge of the goddess followed immediately - all the children of Niobe were shot from bows. The same fate awaited those who refused to honor Artemis - the hunter Broteus paid for it with his life. The goddess sent madness on him, and he threw himself into the fire. Another example is Orion, the mythological hunter (the constellation is named after him).

goddess worshipers

Here we need to digress and mention that Artemis turned to her father, Zeus, with a request to preserve her virginity, like some other goddesses (for example,). Naturally, such a valuable gift attracted many - both gods and mortals. Artemis deftly fought off annoying admirers. One of them, Orion, tried to force the goddess into intimacy by force, for which he was killed by her (this is one of the versions). However, there are options that Artemis herself was in love with her hunter companion. Due to the fact that he threatened to destroy all life on earth, mother earth Gaia sent a scorpion to him.

Mourning the loss of her companion, Artemis lifted him up to heaven and made him a constellation. So it’s safe to say that many myths show that Artemis is not at all the meek goddess that many imagined.

Everywhere Artemis appeared with her companions - nymphs. There were about 20 of them. Before starting to serve the goddess, the nymphs take a vow of celibacy and eternal virginity (following the example of Artemis herself). Those who break the vow face severe punishment. The most striking example is the nymph Callisto. As you know, Zeus was very loving and did not miss a single skirt (or tunic).

A beautiful nymph took a closer look at him, and he took on the appearance , shared a bed with her (according to another version, Zeus turned into Artemis, although in this case it becomes unclear how Callisto could lose her innocence). Artemis found out about this and was furious, because Callisto not only broke her vow, but also became pregnant.

In anger, the goddess fired arrows at her former companion. Zeus understood that it was not in his power to save his beloved, but the child could still survive. He sent Hermes to pull the baby out of its mother's womb and take it away from the wrath of Artemis. According to another version, he turned Callisto into a bear and hid it. However, Hera convinced Artemis to kill the bear (after all, a wild beast). Fearing that poor Callisto would have no rest anywhere on earth, Zeus took her to heaven and turned her into the constellation we know as Ursa Major.

Numerous temples were dedicated to the goddess, but the largest and most famous was in the Greek city of Ephesus (now the territory of Turkey). In these parts, Artemis was depicted in a peculiar way - with several breasts, symbolizing fertility and fertility. To a greater extent, the temple became infamous because of a local resident, Herostratus, who decided to write his name in history and burn the temple.

Often, Artemis was depicted as a young maiden, in a short tunic, with a bow in her hands and arrows over her shoulders. She was sometimes accompanied by deer or dogs. Also in the paintings you can see Artemis surrounded by bears. Note that Artemis was one of the most revered goddesses, despite her temperament and vengeful nature.

Name: Artemis (Artemis)

The country: Olympus

Creator: ancient Greek mythology

Activity: goddess of hunting, fertility and female chastity

Family status: Single

Artemis: Character Story

The character of the mythology of the ancient Greeks. Goddess of the hunt, eternally young virgin (like the goddess of war), patroness of chaste women. At the same time, which looks illogical for a modern person, is the goddess of fertility. Helps women during childbirth, grants a happy marriage, patronizes all living things. Artemis is a sister, archer god, patron of the arts and healer. Apollo, for the Greeks, personifies the Sun, and Artemis - the Moon. In ancient Roman mythology, Artemis corresponds to the goddess Diana. The sacred animals of Artemis are the she-bear and the doe.

Origin story

The meaning of the name Artemis is not known for certain. According to different versions, it comes from the words "killer", "mistress" or "bear goddess". The origin of the goddess leads from the island of Crete, where in ancient times Artemis was the bear goddess, huntress and mistress of animals. From this comes the cruelty of the already classical Artemis.

The vengeful goddess demands that the Mycenaean king Agamemnon sacrifice his own daughter, Iphigenia. Artemis destroys the children of Niobe, who argued with the mother of the goddess, the goddess Leto, and began to say that her own children are more numerous and more beautiful than the children of Leto. The twins Artemis and Apollo shot the children of Niobe with bows for this.

The hunter Actaeon also became a victim of Artemis, who accidentally witnessed how the goddess and her companion nymphs bathe in the river. For peeping, Artemis turned Actaeon into a deer, and he was torn apart by his own hunting dogs. The characterization of Artemis as a vengeful goddess, bringing death to those who are guilty of her, is confirmed by many myths.

The goddess “on a tip” from the god of winemaking kills with arrows, the daughter of the Cretan king Minos, because she married the winner not just anywhere, but in a sacred grove on the island of Naxos.

The brothers of Aloada, the sons of the god of the seas Poseidon, violent in temper and inhumanly strong Ephialtes and Ot, threatened to take the virgin goddesses Artemis and Athena as their wives. The violent Aloads threatened to overturn Mount Olympus - the home of the gods, and even somehow captured the god of war Ares. Artemis killed both by cunning. The goddess ran between the brothers in the form of a deer, they simultaneously threw darts at the beast, but hit each other.

The hunter Alpheus, in love with Artemis, pursued the goddess throughout Greece and did not achieve anything from her. When Alpheus appeared at the night festival that the goddess celebrated with her nymphs, Artemis covered her faces with all the silt and mud, so that the hunter could not recognize the goddess. When it became clear that love could not be achieved from the goddess, Alpheus switched to the nymph Arethus, but she also did not reciprocate the hunter, and Artemis eventually turned this nymph into a stream.

Brotaeus, another mythological hunter, was punished by Artemis for not paying honors to the goddess - distraught, he threw himself into the fire. A certain Melanippus was sacrificed to Artemis, who fell in love with the priestess of the goddess and indulged in love with her right in the temple.

The king of Calydon, the famous ancient Greek hero Aeneas, once forgot about Artemis when he offered thanksgiving sacrifices to the gods for the harvest. The vengeful goddess sent a monstrous boar to Calydon, to which the mythological story of the Calydonian hunt is dedicated. The archaic Artemis was associated simultaneously with death and birth, patronized children and women, and alleviated the suffering of the dying.

Traces of the archaic existence of the goddess in the form of a bear are found in a custom that was associated with the temple of Artemis in Brauron. In this temple, for some time, Athenian girls who were more than five and less than ten years old remained to live. The little ones were called "bears", and they performed certain ceremonies in honor of Artemis during the Brauroni festival, which was celebrated every four years.

The Greek playwright described a certain Egyptian legend, according to which Artemis was considered the daughter of the patron goddess of agriculture, Demeter, and allegedly turned into a cat when the Greek gods escaped to Egypt.

In Asia Minor, in Ephesus, there was the famous temple of Artemis, where people worshiped the many-breasted statue of the goddess. The patroness of childbearing, Artemis of Ephesus, also patronized the Amazons - the mythical people of warlike women who did not tolerate their husbands.

Image and character

Artemis is the daughter of the goddess Leto. The mother of Artemis comes from a kind of titans and gave birth to the heroine and her twin brother Apollo from the thunder god Zeus out of wedlock. Jealous Hera, the wife of Zeus, pursued Leto. The earthly firmament, at the behest of Hera, was not supposed to give Summer a place for childbirth, and only on the island of Delos, next to the lake, Artemis and Apollo were able to be born.

Artemis was served by twenty nymphs and six dozen oceanids. Pan - the god of wildlife, shepherding and cattle breeding - gave the heroine a dozen dogs. Companions of Artemis-hunters take a vow of celibacy and, like the virgin goddess herself, must remain virgin. Those who break the vow will be punished, as happened, for example, with the nymph Callisto.

The girl is seduced by the loving Zeus, taking for this the appearance of Artemis herself (or Apollo). For this offense, Callisto was either turned into a bear, or simply shot by Artemis with a bow. Expiatory sacrifices were made to Artemis before the wedding.

• The name of Artemis in the twentieth century turned out to be closely connected with space. In 1868, the asteroid (105) Artemis was discovered. Later, in 1894, the newly discovered asteroid (395) Delia was named one of the epithets of the goddess. The epithet comes from the name of the island of Delos, on which the goddess was born. The crown (ring structure, relief detail) on the planet Venus is named after the goddess. Artemis is the name of a communications satellite launched in July 2001 that was built by the European Space Agency.
• The night butterfly of the peacock-eye family is named after the goddess.

• Andy Weir, author of the 2015 film adaptation of The Martian, has published a new novel, Artemis. The name of the goddess there is named the only city that exists on the moon.
• Publishing house "Marvel" turned the goddess into a comic book heroine. The heroine appears in issues dedicated to both the Avengers and some others. According to Marvel, Artemis is sent to Earth along with other gods to capture the Avengers, who are angry with Zeus.

• In the fictional DC Comics universe, there is also a character named Artemis. This is a woman from the Amazon tribe, one of the warriors of Wonder Woman's army. In the film Wonder Woman, which was released in the summer of 2017, actress Ann Wolfe played the supporting role of Artemis.
• In the eighth season of the series Supernatural, Artemis appears - a deity in a human body. The goddess is sent by Zeus to the mortal world to keep an eye on the traitor of the gods Prometheus. The role was played by actress Anna Van Hooft.

• In the computer game Gods of Rome, Artemis is one of the playable characters.
• In 1922, the ballet of the French pianist, composer and conductor Paul Paré "Confused Artemis" was created in Paris. The artist Leon Bakst designed costume designs for this action.
• In modern psychological classifications, the female archetype of a strong, successful lady, oriented to the outside world and social achievements, is named after Artemis.

Birth of Apollo and Artemis. Among the Olympian gods are a pair of twins, Apollo and Artemis. Their father is the Thunderer Zeus, and their mother is the beautiful goddess Leto. Zeus fell in love with her, and Hera, of course, hated her. She sent the terrible dragon Python Python to pursue the meek Leto, ordering him not to give Leto rest. From end to end, Python drove the unfortunate goddess, and not a single country, not a single island sheltered her - everyone was afraid of the monster. Barely found Summer a haven on a small rocky island, which in those days rushed through the waves, without a permanent place, and was called Asteria. Leto promised the island that if he gave her shelter, she would glorify it with a magnificent temple. On this island her beautiful children were born. Artemis was born first, and then she helped her mother by taking her birth. Since then, Artemis, although she is a maiden goddess, has been considered an assistant to women giving birth.

The miraculous appearance of Delos. All nature rejoiced at the birth of divine children, and the island of Asteria stopped at the very place where it happened, its land, previously barren, became covered with greenery, and he himself received a new name - Delos (from the Greek word meaning "appear"). Leto kept her promise: indeed, a temple famous throughout Greece was founded on Delos in honor of Apollo, one of her children.

Artemis of Versailles.
Circle of Lyochar.
Roman copy

Wish of Artemis. It is said that when Artemis was three years old, she sat on Zeus's lap and he asked her what gift she would like to receive. Artemis answered him: “Promise to give me eternal virginity, as many names as my brother, a bow and arrow, the obligation to bring light, sixty oceanides to make up my retinue, twenty nymphs who will feed my hunting dogs when I am not on the hunt, and all the mountains in the world; and also give me the city you want, so that I am honored in it above all the gods.

Zeus did everything according to her desire. Artemis became the third and last virgin goddess on Olympus. She had as many names as her brother, and perhaps more. She was called the "Hunter", "Arrow-loving", "Gold-shot", there was even Artemis Bolotnaya! The bow and arrows were made for her by the Cyclopes in the forge of Hephaestus, and she shot her first two arrows into the trees, the third into the animal, the fourth into the city of wicked people who do not know justice.

Ephesus is the city of Artemis.

As for the cities in which she will be honored, here Zeus even exceeded her daughter's request - not one city honored her, but as many as thirty, and in many more cities she had her share in the sacrifices.

But the main city of Artemis was the Asian city of Ephesus, located on the territory of modern Turkey. Artemis of Ephesus was one of the most famous goddesses in the entire Hellenic world, and a magnificent temple built of marble was dedicated to her. The inhabitants of Ephesus have been creating it for more than a hundred years, and it was so beautiful that in ancient times the temple was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. It took a long time to build the temple, but it died in one night.

Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis.

One Ephesian named Herostratus, a man who did not stand out in any way, really wanted to become famous. To do this, one night he set fire to the temple of Artemis. Of course, he suffered a well-deserved punishment, and the townspeople even issued a decree that the memory of Herostratus should be consigned to oblivion. But the former magnificent temple could no longer be restored, and we still remember the name of Herostratus. "Herostratic glory" is the glory of a person who became famous thanks to a bad deed.

Artemis is the patroness of wildlife. Having received the mountains from Zeus, Artemis became the patroness and mistress of not only them, but also all the animals that lived there. She hunts them, but she also makes sure that no one offends them in vain; she helps the hunters, but she also makes sure that the number of animals does not decrease, about their offspring. But Artemis cares not only about them, but also about everything that lives on earth, grows in the forest and in the field: both herds of livestock, and people, and plants. She causes the growth of herbs, flowers and trees, she blesses birth, marriage and marriage. Beautiful as a clear day, with a bow and a quiver behind her shoulders, she merrily wanders through the forests and fields. Artemis also has a favorite among animals - doe. Artemis took special care of her, and the doe was often depicted nearby.

Artemis loves not only bows, arrows and hunting; she also loves the sounds of lyres, round dances, the far-sounding exclamations of merry nymphs. In the evening, if the clear moon shines in the sky, Artemis and the nymphs join hands and dance in the forest glades until late at night. And sometimes Artemis and her friends climb the cherished paths to the top of Mount Parnassus, where Apollo loves to visit. Often, tired of hunting, she puts aside her hunting weapon and listens to her brother playing the cithara. They are never at odds with Apollo, they treat each other with kindred tenderness, and both passionately love their mother, Leto, forgiving no one her insults. Together they punished the wild giant Titius, who had treated her rudely, together they punished the arrogant Niobe.

Proud Niobe. Niobe was the queen of the city of Thebes and had seven sons and seven daughters, beautiful as young gods. When one day the Theban women were about to make rich sacrifices to Leto, Niobe saw them and exclaimed: “Stupid, stupid you, O Theban women! You make sacrifices to this goddess, but why don't you and I pay divine honors? After all, I am not inferior to her beauty, and I have many more children than she has!

Leto heard such impudent and arrogant speeches and was saddened; she did not want to complain to anyone about her offense, but Apollo and Artemis noticed the mother's grief. They asked for a long time about the cause of the disorder, and, finally, Leto told them everything as it was. She wept bitterly from resentment, and rage flared up in the hearts of her children. Loudly shaking their arrows in their quivers, the formidable gods rushed to Thebes to look for the offender.

The death of the sons of Niobe. Just at this time, the Theban youths competed in agility on the field outside the city. Here are the two sons of Niobe rushing on hot horses, they are far ahead of their rivals, purple cloaks flutter behind their shoulders. But the string of Apollo's bow rang - and they fell from their horses to the damp earth, struck by golden arrows. Then two more found death: they fought with each other, their bodies were closely intertwined, and both were pierced by Apollo with one arrow. Niobe's sons perish one by one. The youngest of them begged for mercy, Apollo took pity on him, but did not have time to hold back the deadly arrow: it hit the last son of Niobe right in the heart.

The death of the daughters of Niobe. The news of the death of his sons reached Niobe. She rushed with her daughters into the field, saw lifeless bodies and burst into bitter tears. Her heart is torn from grief, but she does not humble herself, again challenges the immortal goddess: “Rejoice, cruel Summer! You have deprived me of half of my children! But even now I am happier than you, I still have more children than you! As soon as Niobe fell silent, the bowstring rang again: Artemis fired a formidable arrow. The daughters of Niobe stood in mournful silence around the lifeless brothers. And suddenly, without even a cry, one of them fell, then a second, a third... Artemis fired six arrows, leaving Niobe with only one daughter, the youngest. The unfortunate Niobe tries to hide her in the folds of her clothes, she prays to Leto: “You defeated me, goddess! Leave me at least one daughter! Spare her, O great Leto!” But belated pleas are in vain, right in the arms of the mother, the arrow of Artemis strikes the poor girl.

Eternal Tears of Niobe. Upon learning of the terrible events, the Theban king, the husband of Niobe, stabbed himself with a sword. Niobe stood mournfully over the bodies of the children: she had lost everyone she cherished in life. She was numb with grief. The wind does not shake, the wind does not blow her hair, her eyes do not glow with life, nothing touches her anymore. Only frequent large tears fall from her eyes to the ground, one drop after another. The grieving Niobe stood for a long time, and, finally, the gods took pity on her: they turned her to stone. And then a gust of wind came up - and carried the rock to the homeland of the unfortunate queen, to the country of Lydia. And so it has been standing there since then, a rock that looks like a man, and drops of water ooze from it: these are the eternal tears of Niobe falling to the ground.

Artemis and people.

Already from the way Artemis dealt with the daughters of Niobe, it is clear that jokes are bad with this goddess. Indeed, in case of disrespect to her, she did not know leniency, and myths are full of stories of cruel punishments that, sometimes deservedly, but sometimes not, people have endured. So, for example, she, being a virgin, did not tolerate her companions marrying and having children.

Nymph Callisto. Once Zeus fell in love with one of the nymphs, Callisto. When time passed and Artemis noticed that Callisto was expecting a child, the son of Zeus, she was beside herself with rage. For such a violation, the nymph was banished to the mountains. But, when her son was born, named Arkad, Artemis became even more angry, and turned Callisto into a bear. Many years later. Arkad grew up and became a renowned hunter. Once in the forest, he met a bear and was ready to deal her a mortal blow, not knowing that his mother was in front of him. However, Zeus could not allow the death of his beloved and matricide. He immediately raised Arcade and Callisto to heaven and turned them into the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Actaeon. Artemis acted cruelly with the hunter Actaeon. Once, while hunting in the forest, he accidentally wandered into the place where Artemis was bathing. The goddess was angry: Actaeon saw something that no one should see, neither gods nor people - so let him not be able to tell anyone about it! And the unfortunate hunter was immediately turned into a deer. Meanwhile, hunting was going on in the forest. Actaeon's comrades with dogs drove the forest animals; among their dogs was Actaeon's pack of dogs, the best, the fastest and the most evil. Here a deer flashed ahead - and immediately all the dogs rushed after him in pursuit. Ahead of all, of course, were the dogs of Actaeon. So they caught up with the deer, surrounded him, clinging to him, tearing him to pieces. Here the hunters surround the defeated beast, they are surprised at its size and beauty, they regret that Actaeon has disappeared somewhere and does not see what kind of beast his dogs drove. And no one notices that completely human tears flow from the eyes of the dying beast. So this hunter died for his accidental sin.

Artemis can be merciful. However, if Artemis is treated with respect, she can turn her anger into mercy. For example, at the request of Apollo, she pardoned King Admet and his wife Alcesta, who forgot to bring her expiatory sacrifices upon marriage, and from Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek army in the Trojan War, she sought only humility, and when he agreed to sacrifice to her her daughter (as it was - it is told further), she did not allow the death of the girl.

Artemis - the ancient Greek goddess of the hunt, the patroness of female chastity.

The myth of Artemis

The symbol of Artemis is the moon, while her brother represents the sun.

Artemis remains forever young and beautiful, but despite this she took a vow of celibacy.

He loves hunting and archery. The father, Zeus, gave his daughter sixty nymphs to accompany her during the hunt. Also, twenty more nymphs were her servants, taking care of dogs and shoes.

Artemis was known for her accuracy, she was the best archer among the gods and people. No one escaped her arrow.

After the hunt, the goddess loved to rest in a secluded grotto, no one dared to interfere with her. Everyone knew that the goddess had a difficult character.

One day, a young hunter, Actaeon, accidentally wandered to the resting place of Artemis and saw her bathing in the river. It is worth noting that the goddess was very beautiful, and Actaeon could not take his eyes off her. When Artemis noticed him, she flew into a rage and turned the poor fellow into a deer.

The hunter was frightened and ran away, but was killed by his own friends, who, of course, did not recognize him in the form of a deer.

Artemis has always severely punished those who violate the customs and rules established in the animal world. The goddess took care of other people who followed the rules, as well as all animals.

All the nymphs of Artemis had to take a vow of celibacy, like their goddess. Those who broke the vow were severely punished. This happened, for example, with Callisto, who, according to myths, was close to either Zeus or Apollo. Callisto was turned into a bear. It is believed that later, in order to save the girl from the hunters, Zeus placed her in the sky and she became the constellation Ursa Major.

Artemis facilitates childbirth and also facilitates the moment of death. Therefore, it is associated with both life and death.

Temple, built in honor of the goddess, in Ephesus is one of the seven wonders of the world.

She loved her mother and brother very much, took care of everything that grows in the forest and in the field, as well as wild animals. She loved to hunt and always rushed through the forests and fields with a quiver of arrows and a spear, accompanied by her beloved fallow deer. Artemis walked in short clothes of a huntress, she shot very accurately.
She was accompanied by nymphs and a pack of dogs. Artemis loved not only hunting, but also solitude, cool grottoes entwined with greenery, and woe to that mortal who disturbs her peace. The young hunter Actaeon was turned into a deer only because he dared to look at the beautiful Artemis. Tired of hunting, she rushes to her brother Apollo in Delphi and there leads round dances with nymphs and muses. In a round dance, she is the most beautiful of all and taller than all by a whole head. As the sister of the god of light, she is often identified with moonlight and with the goddess Selene. The famous temple at Ephesus was built in her honor. People came to this temple to receive a blessing from Artemis for a happy marriage and the birth of a child. It was also believed that it causes the growth of grasses, flowers and trees.

Homer dedicated a hymn to Artemis:

My song to the gold-shot and loving noise
Artemis, worthy Virgin, chasing deer, arrow-loving,
One-womb sister of the golden king Phoebus.
Enjoying the hunt, she is on the peaks open to the wind,
And on the shady spurs his all-gold bow strains,
Arrows at the animals sending wailing. Tremble in fear
Heads of high mountains. Thick dense thickets
They moan terribly from the roar of the beasts. The land shudders
And a rich sea. She has a fearless heart
The tribe of animals beats, turning back and forth.
After the maiden hunter fills her heart,
Her beautifully bent bow she finally loosens
And goes to the house of the great dear brother
Phoebe, a far-believing king, in the rich district of Delphic...

“bear goddess”, “mistress”, “killer”), in Greek mythology, the goddess of the hunt, the daughter of Zeus and Leto, the twin sister of Apollo (Hes. Theog. 918). She was born on the island of Asteria (Delos). A. spends time in the forests and mountains, hunting surrounded by nymphs - her companions and also hunters. She is armed with a bow and is accompanied by a pack of dogs (Hymn. Hom. XXVII; Callim. Hymn. Ill 81-97). The goddess has a decisive and aggressive character, often uses arrows as a tool of punishment and strictly monitors the implementation of long-established customs that streamline the animal and plant world. A. was angry with the king of Calydon Oineus because he did not bring her a gift, as usual, at the beginning of the harvest, the first fruits of the harvest, and sent a terrible boar to Calydon (see the article Calydonian hunting); she caused discord among the relatives of Meleager, who led the hunt for the beast, which led to the painful death of Meleager (Ovid. Met. VIII 270-300, 422-540). A. demanded a sacrifice of the daughter of Agamemnon, the leader of the Achaeans in the campaign near Troy, because he killed the sacred doe A. and boasted that even the goddess herself would not have been able to kill her so aptly. Then A. in anger sent calm, and the Achaean ships could not go to sea to sail under Troy. Through the soothsayer, the will of the goddess was transmitted, who demanded Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, in return for the killed doe. However, hidden from people, A. took Iphigenia from the altar (replacing her with a doe) to Tauris, where she became a priestess of the goddess demanding human sacrifices (Eur. Iphig. A.). A. Tauride was offered human sacrifices, as evidenced by the story of Orestes, who almost died at the hands of his sister Iphigenia, priestess A. (Eur. Iphig T.). Before A. and Apollo, Hercules had to justify himself, having killed the Kerinean doe with golden horns (Pind. 01. Ill 26-30). These facts, emphasizing the destructive functions of the goddess, are associated with her archaic past - the mistress of animals in Crete. It was there that the hypostasis of A. was the nymph-hunter Britomartis. The oldest A. is not only a hunter, but also a bear. In Attica (in Bravron), the priestesses of A. Vravronia put on bear skins in a ritual dance and were called she-bears (Aristoph. Lys. 645). The sanctuaries of A. were often located near springs and swamps (the veneration of A. Limnatis is “marsh”), symbolizing the fertility of a plant deity (for example, the cult of A. Orthia in Sparta, dating back to Crete-Mycenaean times). The chthonic wildness of A. is close to the image of the Great Mother of the Gods - Cybele in Asia Minor, whence the orgiastic elements of the cult, glorifying the fertility of the deity. In Asia Minor, in the famous temple of Ephesus, the image of A. many-breasted (??????????) was venerated. Rudiments of the archaic plant goddess in the image of A. are manifested in the fact that she, through her assistant (in her former hypostasis) Ilithyia, helps women in childbirth (Callim. Hymn. Ill 20-25). Only when she was born, she helps her mother to accept born after her Apollo (Apollod. I 4, 1). She also has the prerogative to bring a quick and easy death. However, classical A. is a virgin and a protector of chastity. She patronizes Hippolytus, who despises love (Eur. Hippol.). Before the wedding of A., according to custom, an expiatory sacrifice was made. To King Admet, who forgot about this custom, she filled the bridal chambers with snakes (Apollod. I 9, 15). The young hunter Actaeon, who inadvertently spied on the ablution of the goddess, was turned into a deer by her and torn to pieces by dogs (Ovid. Met. Ill 174-255). She also killed her companion nymph, the hunter Callisto, turned into a bear, angry for her violation of chastity and the love of Zeus for her (Apollod. Ill 8, 2). A. killed the terrible Bufag ("bull-eater"), who tried to encroach on her (Paus. VIII 27, 17), as well as the hunter Orion (Ps.-Eratosth. 32). A. Ephesus - the patroness of the Amazons (Callim. Hymn. Ill 237).
The ancient idea of ​​A. is associated with her lunar nature, hence her proximity to the sorcery charms of the moon goddess Selene and the goddess Hekate, with whom she sometimes approaches. Late heroic mythology knows A.-moon, secretly in love with the handsome Endymion (Apoll. Rhod. IV 57-58). In heroic mythology, A. is a participant in the battle with the giants, in which Hercules helped her. In the Trojan War, she, along with Apollo, fights on the side of the Trojans, which is explained by the origin of the goddess in Asia Minor. A. is the enemy of any violation of the rights and foundations of the Olympians. Thanks to her cunning, the giant brothers Aloada, who tried to disrupt the world order, died. The impudent and unbridled Titius was killed by the arrows of A. and Apollo (Callim. Hymn. Ill 110). Boasting before the gods of her numerous offspring, Niobe lost 12 children, also killed by Apollo and A. (Ovid. Met. VI 155-301).

In Roman mythology, Artemis is known as Diana, was considered the personification of the moon, just as her brother Apollo was identified with the sun in late Roman antiquity.