Artemis

Artemis the Goddess of Hunting and Animals is also the Goddess of boundaries that can teach us independence and respect.

Blessings

Artemis can teach us wildness, independence, and a love of nature. She protects women, children, and anyone who exhibits exceptional self-sufficience or who defies cultural gender roles. As a goddess of transitions she helps us pass from one state to another, and as a bringer of light she can illuminate our lives and help us find our way. In ancient Greece, cities prayed to Artemis before battle when the situation was a matter of life and death: when the options were be victorious or be destroyed, they prayed to Artemis for survival. Artemis can help us face whatever life throws at us. Always the expert huntress, she teaches us how to adapt, survive, and thrive.

God Of

  • Hunting

Primary Cult Centers

  • Brauron
  • Delos
  • Ephesos
  • Sparta

Epithets

  • Agreia – Of the Wild, Huntress
  • Agrotera – Of the Wild, Huntress
  • Brauronia – Of Brauron, Caretaker of Girls
  • Delia – Of Delos
  • Hegemone – Leader, Ruler
  • Karytis – Of the Walnut Tree
  • Keladeine – Noisy or Sounding
  • Kynthia – Of Kynthos
  • Leukophryne – White Brow
  • Limenia – Protector of Harbors
  • Limnatis – Of the Marsh
  • Lokheia – Protector of Women in Childbird
  • Mounykhia – From Mounykhia
  • Orthia/Ortheia – Unknown (previously believed to be Upright)
  • Parthenos – Virgin
  • Phoebe – Light Bringing
  • Phosphoros – Bringing Light, Shinning
  • Potnia Theron – Mistress of Animals
  • Soteira – Savior

Symbols

Bow, Arrows, Torch, Deer

Animals

All Animals, Deer, Bear, Goat, Boar, Buteo Hawk, Dog, Horse, Fresh water fish, Ground dwelling birds

Sacrifices

Cypress, Asphodel, Amaranth, Palm tree, Mugwort, Birch, Wildflowers, Female goat, Toys (from girls before their wedding), Clothing (from women), Garlands, Statuettes of children (by their parents), Statuettes of soldiers, Clay masks (probably used in rites of passage), Moonstone, Mugwort, Frankincense, Port, Game meat

Festivals

  • Artemisia (Modern observance – 6th June) Modern festival of Artemis where anything goes, celebrating freedom and modern inspiration.
  • Elaphebolia (6 Elaphebolion (March-April)) Festival of Artemis the deer hunter
  • Kharisteria (6 Boedromion (September-October)) Festival of thanks to Artemis for Athen’s survival of the Persian assault at Marathon
  • Mounykhia (16 Mounykhion (April-May)) Festival of Artemis the light bringer
  • Philokhoria (Modern observance – Summer Solstice) A joint festival of Artemis and Apollo based on an obscure passage in Callimachus’ hymn to Artemis
  • Sixth (6th each month) Sacred to Artemis
  • Thargelia (6-7 Thargelion (May-June)) Birthday of Apollon and Artemis, first fruit offerings and purification festival

Ways to honor

The best way to honor Artemis is to care for the natural world. Clean up pollution, protect wildlife, donate time and money to ecological concerns. Get out into the wild, and experience the natural world. Go on nature walks, go for picnics, camp, hunt – get outside! If you eat meat, respect the animal that it came from. Be mindful of what the animal went through, and the intimate connection that exists between its death and your life. Hunt, if you can. Be respectful of personal space and privacy. Be supportive of people who don’t live according to culturally established norms.

More…

Articles

Ancient Hymns and Texts

  • No Ancient Texts yet… Do you know one? Contact the member responsible for this page by clicking his name on the sidebar.

Modern Hymns and Devotions

  • No modern devotions yet… You want to offer one? Contact the member responsible for this page by clicking his name on the sidebar.

Primary Sources

  • Apollodorus’ Library 1.4.2-5, 1.6.2, 1.7.4-5, 1.9.16, 2.5.4, 3.14.4, 3.5.1, 3.5.7, 3.9.1
  • Callimachus’ Hymn to Artemis
  • Euripides’ Hippolytus
  • Euripides’ Iphigeneia in Aulis
  • Euripides’ Iphigenia in Tauris
  • Hesiod’s Theogony 920
  • Homer’s Iliad 6.4.14, 9.533-536, 20.30-39, 20.70-71, 21.468-513, 24.605-607
  • Homer’s Odyessey 15.475, 20.60
  • Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 5.1
  • Homeric Hymn to Apollo 3a.1
  • Homeric Hymn to Artemis 9, 27
  • Papyri Graeci Magicae 7.686-702
  • Pausanias’ Description of Greece 2.7.7-8, 2.26.6, 3.18.15, 8.27.17, 8.53.1-3, 9.19.1, 9.19.7
  • Pindar’s Olympian Odes 3.25-30
  • Pindar’s Pythian Odes 3.31-37, 4.90-92

Links

Modern Books

Artemis