Thursday, August 8, 2013

Day One - Short Introduction to Artemis

1. A basic introduction of the deity.

Many modern pagan sources seem to give a limited view of Artemis - often just nothing more than the short description of "Greek moon goddess," and while she does have lunar ties, Artemis is so much more than that.

Artemis is very much a goddess of hunting, and of wild animals and wild places. I have seen her described as the 'soul of the wild,' and that is a very fitting description of her. While she is a huntress, she is also the protector of wild animals.

Similarly, she had ties to healing and health, and she is a protector of girls and women - yet she was also thought to be responsible for bringing disease and sudden death to them as well. Again, being both protector and destroyer.

Beyond that, she was also a goddess of childbirth, a goddess of the dawn and of the frost, and also had some ties to singing, dancing, and music. She was a virgin goddess, yet the Ephesian Artemis had close ties to fertility.

Artemis is a very complex deity (as they often are!), and it's hard for me to keep her introduction short... but there are 29 more days to get into more detail, so I'll leave it a bit simple for now.

Still, if you're looking to read (a lot) more about Artemis, I strongly suggest her page on Theoi.

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