Artemis, identified by the Romans with
Diana, was the very dangerous goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, and
later the moon. She was responsible for the mysterious deaths of women. Her
parents were Zeus and the nymph Leto, and she is often shown with her bow and
arrows and her twin brother Apollo, who was her constant companion. Hera,
furious at Zeus' infidelity with Leto, commanded that she could give birth on
no place "that saw the light of day." Delos, at the center of the
Cyclades, was a floating island, bobbing beneath the surface. There the
suffering Leto gave birth to Artemis, who then immediately helped to deliver
her brother.
She was thus recognized as protecting women in childbirth.
When Artemis was bathing, the hunter Actaeon saw her naked. Offended and ashamed,
she transformed him into a stag.
Actaeon's own dogs, not recognizing their master, tore him
to pieces. Niobe thought she was better than Leto because she had seven boys
and seven girls, whereas Leto gave birth only to Artemis and Apollo. In
response, Apollo killed her sons with his arrows, and Artemis shot her
daughters. Devastated, Niobe turned into a stone that even now is said to weep
in the mountains of western Turkey.
by Barry Powell, 30 Second Mythology
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