Artemis is a Greek goddess, daughter of Leto and Zeus, and twin sister of Apollo. She is associated with hunting, wilderness, and the moon. Her symbols are the deer and cypress. Artemis is also considered a goddess of fertility and childbirth. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
In Greek mythology, Artemis is the daughter of Leto and Zeus, ruler of all gods. She is also the twin sister of the god Apollo. Artemis is one of the best known and most worshiped gods. She is known to have been worshiped throughout the Hellenic world. In Roman mythology, her name is Diana. In the Etruscan mythological tradition she is Artume.
As with all gods and goddesses, some symbols are sacred to Artemis. Both the deer and the cypress are sacred to her. Perhaps it is because she is considered the goddess of hunting and wilderness that these symbols of the forest are associated with her. Replacing the Titaness Selene, Artemis also became the goddess of the moon. In her artwork, she is almost always painted with her images of her and sacred symbols of her. In her paintings, she is usually naked, in a forest scene with deer. She might hold or wear a bow and quiver of arrows.
Legend has it that Artemis assisted her mother in the birth of her twin, Apollo. Due to a curse placed on Leto by Hera, wife of Zeus, Artemis’ mother had to give birth to her children in a place where the sun had never shone. To supply such a place, Zeus erected an island that had always had its crest just below the ocean waves. This is the island of Delos. As he grabbed a palm tree, he gave birth to Artemis. A month later, Apollo came into the world.
Thus, in her virginal aspect, Artemis is considered by some to be the goddess of both fertility and childbirth in addition to her other distinctions. Also, over the centuries, different groups of hers have assimilated her to other goddesses. In Athens during the classical period, for example, she was identified with the goddess Hecate. She has also been similarly connected with Ilithyia and Caryatis.
Artemis was traditionally celebrated in Athens and on Delos, her hometown. However, the most amazing temple of her is in Türkiye. The Temple of Artemis is located in Ephesus in the western part of the country. The temple is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Indeed, there were a number of temples worshiping the goddess on the same site. In 1904, an excavation of the site conducted by the British Museum identified evidence of at least five temples there.
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