Artemis

Artemis, the Roman Diana, is the virgin goddess of the hunt, of wild animals and untamed places, of childbirth, and of the moon. Twin sister of Apollo and, like him, an archer, she roams the mountains with her band of nymphs, fierce in defense of her chastity and swift to punish those who trespass against her.

Her great temple at Ephesus, where she was worshipped in an ancient many-breasted form fused with an Asian mother-goddess, was counted among the wonders of the world. As her brother came to be identified with the sun, Artemis was drawn to the moon, the lesser light that governs the night and the tides of generation — the bright boundary between the heavens and the changeable world below.

Epithets

• Agrotera Ἀγροτέρα — the huntress, of the wild
• Potnia Theron Πότνια Θηρῶν — mistress of wild animals
• Phosphoros Φωσφόρος — the light-bearer
• Lochia Λοχία — of childbirth
• Orthia Ὀρθία — her fierce Spartan cult title
• Ephesia Ἐφεσία — of Ephesus, the many-breasted