Greek Goddess Artemis: Goddess of the Hunt and the Moon in Greek Mythology

The goddess Artemis could be your best friend or your worst enemy, and either way it all depended on you. Keep watching to learn all about her. Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today we are focusing on the goddess of hunting, chastity, wild nature and the moon in Greek mythology, Artemis. Don't forget the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up and subscribing to our channel so you don't miss out on any new uploads. If you like my shirt, be sure to check out our new merch store where you can find this design and a bunch more. I'll leave the link for it down below. Artemis was the twin sister to the god Apollo, born on either Delos or Otygia to the Olympian god Zeus and the titan Leto. From a young age Artemis knew what she wanted and when her father placed her on his knee and asked what she would like as a gift, she asked for eternal virginity, as many names of honor and a bow and arrow all equal to her brothers, 60 ocean nymphs as her maids of honor, a hunting tunic of saffron and red hem, the office of bringing light, 20 river nymphs, for Zeus to care for her hounds when she was out hunting, and any city he wished to bestow upon her. Which city didn't matter because she intended to live up in the mountains for most of the time anyway. Artemis's symbols became the bow and arrow, the quiver, deer, the moon, and the cypress tree. With the silver bow made by the cyclops, Artemis became known as the goddess of the hunt, wild nature, and the mistress of animals, and was further associated with wild animals, especially young ones, the moon and forests. In Hesiod's Theogony, Artemis is described as arrow-shooting Artemis, and in Homer's Iliad, where she plays a minor role, she was called the archer goddess, goddess of the loud hunt, and of the wild, mistress of wild creatures. She was often depicted in statues holding the bow and arrow, the quiver, or a spear, and was often accompanied by a deer, a hunting dog, or a stag. As a patron to young girls, protector of childbirth, and goddess of chastity and fertility, she chose to remain a maiden, much like the goddesses Athena and Hestia. She watched over mothers and children, but was known for her vengeful nature, and so death in childbirth, whether of the mother or of the newborn, was sometimes attributed to her as a punishment for some sin. She was the patron deity of brides young girls who, upon reaching maturity, would dedicate their toys to her as a symbolic passing from childhood to adulthood. As a deity of fertility, Artemis was worshipped primarily at Ephesus, close to where she was believed to have been born at Ortygia, and people worshipped her through sacrifice and gifts, especially the gift of clothing following a successful birth. The temple of Artemis at Ephesus was begun in around 550 BCE, and after a century of work, and 107 columns later, it stood larger than the Parthenon, and was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Artemis was also worshipped on the island of Delos, the other potential birthplace of the twins, and at Taurus, Magnesia, Purge, and Braron. At Braron, during the 8th to the 3rd centuries BCE, the temple site and sacred spring was used for a rite of passage for young girls and brides-to-be. The details of the rites enacted here are unclear, although surviving pottery shows young girls dancing and running. In mythology, Artemis is known from a number of stories, one of which took place at the beginning of the Trojan War. The king Agamemnon had angered Artemis by killing one of her sacred deer. So, on their way to Troy, Artemis took the wind out of Agamemnon's sails, and would only grant wind to the fleet if Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter, Iphigenia. Agamemnon agreed, but in the last moment, Artemis felt pity for the young girl, and substituted a deer for her, taking Iphigenia to a sanctuary at Taurus, in Crimea, in modern-day Russia, to be one of her priestesses. Although in the story of Iphigenia, Artemis saved the young girl from sacrifice, other stories show her darker side. After the hunter Orion tried to rape either Artemis or one of her maidens, Artemis killed him. After the queen Niobe boasted that her child-bearing abilities were greater than Leto's, Artemis's mother, Artemis used her bow and arrows to kill her six, and in some accounts, seven children. She turned one of her followers Callisto into a bear after she had lain with Zeus. The hunter Actaeon, either because he boasted he was a better hunter, or because he spied on Artemis bathing in the forest, was turned into a stag by the goddess, and was torn to pieces by his own hunting dogs. Finally, when the king of Calydon forgot to honor her properly, Artemis sent an enormous boar to terrorize the kingdom. No one could kill it until the all-star band of heroes, including Theseus, Jason, Atalanta, and Maliga, organized a group to hunt the boar down, and then sacrificed it to the goddess to appease her. This story, like the earlier ones regarding Niobe or Actaeon, impressed on an ancient audience the importance of proper behavior regarding the gods, and encouraged piety, as no one wanted to anger a goddess as powerful as the great Artemis. How do you feel about Artemis's darker side? Do you feel these stories about her would have served their purpose? Let us know down below. 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