The myth of Artemis, the goddess of nature

The myth of Artemis refers to a goddess different from the others, who did not get involved in anyone’s affairs, nor did she allow humans or gods to get close to her. His thing was to walk freely through the forests, in the company of animals.

The myth of Artemis is one of the oldest in Greece. We are talking about one of the most revered goddesses in ancient times and who represents an unruly and active form of the female figure. For this reason, the cult of this goddess was, above all, typical of women. In fact, men who wanted to participate in her celebrations were punished.

In the myth of Artemis two facets of the goddess appear. One is that of the woman who does not tolerate any contact with men and avoids their presence. Another is the goddess of hunting, who wears a loose suit to walk through the fields and is always surrounded by animals. It is curious, anyway, that she is a friend of animals and at the same time she promotes hunting.

There are several stories from mythology where this goddess intervenes, almost always to enforce her domains. The only male figure that has any relevance in the myth of Artemis is Orion. While sometimes it is said that he loved him, other times he is only seen as a hunting and adventure companion.

“Gods? Maybe there are. I neither affirm it nor deny it, because I do not know it nor do I have the means to know it. But I know, because life teaches me this daily, that if they exist, they neither take care of us nor care about us.”.

-Epicurus of Samos-

The myth of Artemis: the origin

As with other characters, there are several versions of the Artemis myth. Anyway, In all of them it is said that she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto. The latter was the daughter of two titans and Zeus fell in love with her. However, she had previously tried to rape her sister, who to escape from the god turned into a sparrow.

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Hera, the wife of Zeus, discovered the romance between her husband and Leto. She also found out that she was pregnant. That’s why she decided to pursue her relentlessly, making no one help her. Thus managed to get her to a desert island to give birth. Besides, He forbade his daughter Ilithia, goddess of childbirth, to attend Leto at this time..

Therefore, Leto suffered great pain and the birth was delayed for nine days. Afterwards, the gods were moved by her suffering and They allowed Artemis to be born and, as a newborn, to assist her mother in the birth of her twin brother, Apollo. .

Artemis’s wishes

The myth of Artemis says that when the goddess was just 3 years old, she asked her father, Zeus, to grant her nine wishes.. These were: always remain a virgin; have many names; be the “Giver of Light”; have a bow and arrows, and a tunic up to the knees; count on sixty daughters of Oceanus, all 9 years old, to be her choir; and 20 nymphs as maidens to take care of her; rule over the mountains, and help women in the pains of childbirth.

All wishes were granted and Artemis He spent his childhood learning the art of hunting and preparing to live in the forests. She became very jealous of her domain and implacable with those who entered her land, or tried to dispute her virtues.

One of the best known stories is that of Actaeon. This was a Theban who, unintentionally, saw the goddess naked in a river, while he was going hunting. Although the nymphs rushed to cover it, they did not make it in time. Artemis, very angry at this intrusion on her modesty, cHe turned Actaeon into a deer and urged his own dogs to devour him.

The loveless goddess

It is said that Orion became her hunting companion and that for a long time he accompanied Artemis on her excursions to the forest. Apollo, fearing that Orion would take his sister’s virginity, hatched a scheme to get rid of him. He told Gaia, the earth goddess, that this was a vain and arrogant hunter. She this she sent a scorpion to kill him.

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Trying to escape from the scorpion, Orion began swimming towards an island. Meanwhile, Apollo told Artemis that the person fleeing into the distance was a stranger who had tried to rape one of her nymphs. Then he encouraged her to shoot him with one of her arrows… and the goddess did so. When he realized that he had killed Orion, he asked his father to turn him into a constellation..

There were many men and gods who wanted to have Artemis as a woman, but she did not grant this wish to any of them.. He had to attack several personally with his arrows or with the help of animals. She turned Sipretes, who wanted to rape her, into a woman.