Artemis

Artemis (Aka Roman goddess Diana)
Goddess of forests and hills, the moon, child birth, virginity, fertility, the hunt, and all wild animals.

=
Weapon: Bow and arrows Relatives: Artemis is the daughter of [|Zeus] and [|Leto], she is also the twin sister of [|Apollo]. ======
 * Strengths/Talents: ** Physically strong, able to defend herself, defender and guardian of women in childbirth and of wildlife in general.
 * Weaknesses/Flaws/Quirks: ** Hates men, opposes the institution of marriage and the subsequent loss of freedom it entails for women.

When Hera found out her husband Zeus had cheated on her with Leto. Hera sent out a serpent to prevent the birth of Artemis (who is also known as the Roman goddess Diana) and Apollo. Leto frantically went from place to place, but found no welcome anywhere, since everyone feared incurring the wrath of Hera. She finally found refuge on //Ortygia//, the island of her sister Asteria, where she gave birth to Artemis. Immediately after her own birth, the newborn Artemis precociously helped her mother through nine days of labor and delivery until her brother Apollo emerged. Themis, Leto's aunt, took care of the young gods and nourished them on ambrosia and nectar—the food and drink of the gods. Also, it was considered that the reason Artemis wished to forever be chaste, was because she had seen her mother in so much pain during labor with Apollo. She also wished never to be confined by marriage, she wanted lop-eared hounds, stags to lead her chariot, and nymphs to be her hunting companions, 60 from the river and 20 from the ocean.
 * Birth: **

When Artmeis was alittle girl, she climbed on her father's, Zeus, lap. She asked him to grant her six wishes. The first thing she wished for was to remain chaste for all of eternity. Then she wished for lop-eared hounds. Another one of her wishes was to have nymphs for her hunting partners, 80 in all. Also she wished for a silver bow like her brother Apollo. Zeus granted all of her wishes. All of the nymphs stayed virgins as well as Artemis. She had the silver bow and arrow as her symbol.
 * Childhood: **

** Human Interactions: ** [|Actaeon & Artemis] One day while Artemis and her nymphs were bathing, the Theban prince [|Actaeon] spotted them and watched. When Artemis saw him she was enraged, so she turned him into a stag which was pursued and killed by his own hounds. Another version states that Actaeon boasted that he was a better hunter than she and Artemis turned him into a stag and he was eaten by his hounds.

[|Orion & Artemis] Another interaction Artemis had was with the human Orion. Orion was a great hunter so this was a trait both him and Artemis had in common. Artemis was very good of friends with Orion and because Artemis spent most of her time with Orion, her brother Apollo was worried that Orion compromised Artemis's virginity. So Apollo decided to send a giant scorpian after Orion. Orion fought with all his might and when he found out he could not harm it he decided to swim into the sea to escape. Apollo then told Artemis that an evil man, Candaon, had the night previous harmed Opos, one of her hyperborean priestesses, and was swimming away to escape Artemis's wrath. This made her very angry so she went to the sea, where Apollo pointed to a speck in the distance that was Orion's head, he told Artemis the speck was Candaon. Artemis shot an arrow at her friend (whom she believed was Candaon), meanwhile Apollo had run away. Artemis then went to Opos and inquired about Candaon. Opos said she knew nothing of the attack. Artemis then descovered the truth and retrieved her friend's body, but he was unable to be revived, so Artemis placed his body among the stars as a tribute to their friendship.

media type="youtube" key="85tDhKPYicI" height="344" width="425" The Temple of Artemis was built around 550 B.C. and is one of the [|7 Wonders of the Ancient World]. The Temple was intentionally burned down by Herostratus in 356 B.C. The Temple of Artemis was so big that it took 120 years to build. It was one of the biggest temples built in ancient times. The whole temple was built out of marble except for its wooden roof. There were previous temples on the location dating all the way back to the [|Broze age]. It was located in the city of Ephesus, which is current day Turkey. Today the location is a marshy field with one column still standing to show the the great temple was once there.

__ Work Cited: __ "Actaeon Caserta." __Wikipedia__ "Artemis and Orion, a Greek myth" __CantonRep.com__ []

" Artemis, Apollo's sister, goddess of the hunt." __Quia__  [].

"Artemis". Wikipedia. Apr 23, 2009 [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis].

Coffey, Melissa. "Artemis". Apr 23, 2009 [].

Gill, N.S. "Artemis - Greek Goddess Artemis". About.com. Apr 23, 2009 [].

Graves, Robert. "Artemis and Orion". Linda Rosewood Hooper. April 25, 2009 .

Regula, Traci. "Fast Facts on Artemis". About.com. Apr 23, 2009 .