Artemis

Mistress of the wild

Born a day before her twin Apollo, Artemis is said to have helped her mother deliver him, which is why women in labour prayed to her. As a little girl she asked Zeus for a bow, a band of nymph companions and the freedom to remain unmarried forever, and he granted every wish.

Protector and avenger

Artemis roamed the mountains with her hounds, protecting wild creatures and the young of every species. She was gentle to those in her care and terrifying to anyone who crossed her. When the hunter Actaeon saw her bathing, she turned him into a stag, and he was torn apart by his own dogs.

Key myths

• The transformation of Actaeon
• The punishment of Niobe, who boasted she had more children than Leto
• Her demand for the sacrifice of Iphigenia before the Trojan War
• The hunter Orion, placed among the stars

Worship

Her temple at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. At Brauron near Athens, young girls served her as little bears in a coming-of-age ritual, and in Sparta boys proved their endurance at the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia. In later times she was linked with the moon goddess Selene.