In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Artemis is the goddess of hunting, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. Daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister of Apollo, she was one of the three major virgin goddesses alongside Athena and Hestia. She was among the most widely venerated Greek deities; her great temple at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Her Roman equivalent is Diana.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Artemis" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Etymology
The etymology of the name Artemis remains uncertain. Beekes suggested that the e/i interchange indicates a Pre-Greek origin, a view supported by the Lydian variant Artimus and by Mycenaean attestations a-te-mi-to and a-ti-mi-te in Linear B at Pylos.
Proposed links include Greek árktos ("bear"), reflecting Attic bear cults such as the Brauronia; folk etymologies in antiquity connected the name with artemḗs ("safe, unharmed, pure") or artamos ("butcher"). A Minoan precursor is sometimes sought in the mountain-and-hunting goddess Britomartis.
II.Description and functions
Homer calls Artemis Potnia Theron, "mistress of animals," a title associated with Bronze Age images of a woman between paired beasts. She leads nymphs in the hunt, bears kourotrophic (child-nurturing) roles, and was worshipped as a primary goddess of childbirth and midwifery alongside Eileithyia and Hera.
Epithets mark local aspects: Limnatis and Potamia near water; Lochia and Lecho in childbirth; Phosphoros when carrying torches and identified with Hecate; Orthia, Korythalia, and related titles in Dorian vegetation and initiatory cults. In Homeric poetry she is above all the arrow-shooting huntress (ἰοχέαιρα).
III.Worship
Artemis was worshipped throughout the Greek world. Best-known cults include Delos (her birthplace), Brauron and Mounichia in Attica, and Sparta, where she was a patron before military campaigns. Athenian festivals included the Elaphebolia, Mounikhia, Kharisteria, and Brauronia; at Brauron pre-pubescent girls served as arktoi ("little she-bears").
The Artemision at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders; there the Ionians identified a powerful local mother goddess with Artemis through interpretatio graeca. Month names such as Artemision/Artemisios were widespread in Greek calendars. Dedications of clothing after a successful birth were common in the Classical era.
IV.Attributes in cult
Virginity was central to her persona and is often linked to ritual purity required of hunters and to her independence among the gods; she is one of the three goddesses over whom Aphrodite has no power. Despite that virginity, scholars and ancient commentators also connect her with fertility and midwifery, and in Asia Minor with local mother-goddess figures such as Cybele.
Symbols include bow, arrow, and quiver; the deer was sacred to her. In later times she was identified with Selene, the personification of the Moon. Her Roman equivalent is Diana.