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Beware the Wrath of Artemis!
Artemis was born the daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin
sister of Apollo. Artemis was born one day ahead of Apollo on the isle of Ortygia. She then aided her
mother to Delos where she actually helped in delivering her brother Apollo. This also made her a
goddess of childbirth and protector of women. Artemis is identified as a goddess of many different
things depending on what legend you're reading. In most cases, she's the goddess of the wilderness,
wild animals, and the Hunt. She's also been said to represent the moon, childbirth, and fertility.
Another main aspect of Artemis' persona was her virginity. It's said that in early childhood, she
asked her father, Zeus, to give her eternal virginity. This was granted and Artemis remained as one
of
the few virgin goddesses. Not only did she keep her virginity, but she was extremely protective of her
followers being virgins as well. She wasn't too fond of being seen nude by men either. One character
by the name of Actaeon, a hunter, found this out the hard way. He happened to find Artemis and her
companions bathing nude in a hidden pool. Of course Actaeon couldn't resist the sight of a goddess
bathing so he froze and just stood there watching in delight. Unfortunately for him, Artemis caught
the little peeper and changed him into a stag. She then sent the hunter's own dogs after him at
which point poor Actaeon was killed by the hounds.
Another thing about Artemis is her vengeful attitude. This was one goddess you just do not want to
mess with! Agamemnon once killed one of her sacred animals and was forced to sacrifice his
daughter in order for his ships to be allowed to sail to Troy. Heracles almost got in trouble for killing
one of her sacred animals, but was forgiven on account of the labors. Then you have Niobe who had
the gaul to place herself above Artemis' mother. Once she and her brother caught wind of this, the
twins hunted down and killed all of Niobe's sons and
daughters.
All in all I guess you could say Artemis was a woman's woman. She kept her virginity, kept her
purity, was very strong, and if anyone messed with her...well, as the old saying goes: "hell hath
no
fury as a woman scorned". How true indeed.
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