The immortal gods of Olympus have been worrying people's minds for several millennia. We admire the beautiful statues and paintings, read and reread the myths of ancient Greece, watch films about their lives and adventures. They are close to us because, with all the divine immortality, nothing human is alien to them. One of the brightest characters of Olympus is Artemis of Ephesus.
Who is Artemis?
"The Bear Goddess," the mistress of the mountains and forests, the patroness of nature, the goddess of hunting - all these epithets refer to Artemis. Among the host of the inhabitants of Olympus, Artemis occupies a special place. Her images in the form of a fragile girl admire grace and beauty. It's hard to imagine that Artemis is the goddess of hunting, distinguished by ruthlessness and vindictiveness.
But not only the cruelty of the goddess was famous, she did not just kill animals in the forests, but she also protected the animal world, protected forests and meadows. Artemis was treated with pleading by women who wanted to easily give birth or die without pain. The fact that the Greeks it was considered revered, show artifacts with the mention of Artemis of Ephesus. The famous temple in Ephesus was burned by Herostratus, there was the famous statue of Artemis a multi-breasted. In its place was built no less famous temple of Artemis, which entered into seven wonders of the world.
Symbol of Artemis
The beautiful goddess-hunter had a suite of nymphs, she herself selected the most beautiful. They were obliged to remain virgins, like Artemis herself. But the main symbols, which immediately recognized Artemis, are the bow and arrows. Her weapons of silver were made by Poseidon, and the dog of the goddess Artemis belonged to the deity of Pan, whose goddess begged her. On the most famous sculptural image, Artemis is dressed in a short tunic, she has a quiver with arrows behind her shoulders, and beside her a doe.
Artemis - Myths of Ancient Greece
The goddess Artemis in Greek mythology is a character that is often encountered, but not very kind. Most of the stories are related to the revenge of Artemis. Such examples can be:
- The myth of the wrath of Artemis that Calydonian King Oyney did not bring the requisite gifts from the first harvest. Its place was a boar that destroyed all the crops of the kingdom.
- The myth about Agamemnon, who shot the sacred doe of the goddess, for which the daughter of Iphigenia was to be sacrificed. To Artemis's credit, she did not kill the girl, but replaced her with a doe. Iphigenia became the priestess of Artemis in Tauris, where it was customary to make human sacrifices.
- Even Hercules had to seek excuses for Aphrodite for the dead golden hare
- Artemis severely punished the nymph Calypso from her retinue for breaking her vow to keep her virginity, succumbed to Zeus's passion, the goddess turned her into a bear.
- The beautiful young Adonis is another victim of Artemis's jealousy. He was the beloved of Aphrodite and died of the boar that Artemis sent.
Artemis and Actaeon - a myth
One of the bright myths showing the hard and uncompromising nature of Artemis is the myth of Artemis and Actaeon. The myth tells of the beautiful hunter Actaeon, who, during the hunt, was near the place where Artemis liked to bathe in clear river water. The young man had the misfortune to see a naked goddess. Her anger was so great that she ruthlessly turned him into a deer, which was then ripped apart by his own dogs. And his friends, looking at the brutal massacre, rejoiced at such a prey to a friend.
Apollo and Artemis
Artemis was born from the lord of Olympus, Zeus, the mother of Artemis, the deity of nature Summer. Zeus, fearing the jealous wife of Hera hid Leto on the island of Delos, where she gave birth to twins Artemis and Apollo. Artemis was born first and immediately began to help the mother, who for a long time and hard gave birth to Apollo. Subsequently, the women in labor addressed to Artemis with pleading for easy and painless births.
Twin brother Apollo - the god of the Sun , patron of arts and Atremida were always close to each other and together tried to protect their mother. They cruelly avenged Niobe, insulting their mother, depriving her of all the children and turning into an eternally weeping stone. And another time, when the mother of Apollo and Artemis complained of the extortions of the giant Titius, she struck him with an arrow. The goddess protected herself from violence not only by her mother, but also by other women who turned to her for help.
Zeus and Artemis
Artemis daughter of Zeus, and not just a daughter, and a favorite, which he set as an example from an early age. According to legend, when the goddess was three years old, Zeus asked her daughter about the gift, which she would like to receive from him. Artemis wished to be an eternal virgin, to have a retinue, a bow and arrows, to dispose of all the mountains and forests, to have many names and a city in which it would be honored.
Zeus fulfilled all the requests of his daughter. She became the undivided lady and defender of mountains and forests. In her retinue were the most beautiful nymphs. She was revered not in one city, but in thirty, but the main was Ephesus with the famous temple of Artemis. These cities brought victims to Artemis, held festivities in her honor.
Orion and Artemis
Orion, the son of Poseidon, became an involuntary victim of Artemis. The Greek goddess Artemis was impressed by the beauty, strength and ability to hunt Orion. She suggested that he become her companion on the hunt. Over time, she began to feel a deeper feeling for Orion. Brother Artemis Apollo did not like the sister's love. He believed that she began to poorly perform her duties and not follow the moon. He decided to get rid of Orion and did it with the hands of Artemis herself. He sent Orion to fish, then suggested that his sister get into a subtle point in the sea, ridiculing her with ridicule.
Artemis shot an arrow and hit the head of her lover. When she saw who she had struck, she fell into despair and rushed to Zeus, begging to revive Orion. But Zeus refused, then Artemis asked to be able to at least admire Orion. Zeus sympathized with her and sent Orion to the sky in the form of a constellation, along with him went to the sky his dog Sirius.