\paperw3990 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \cf7 Artemis, or\cf0 \cf15 Diana\cf0 \cf7 to the Romans, was the daughter of\cf13 \b \cf15 \ATXht8 Zeus\b0 \cf13 \ATXht0 \cf7 and
\b \ATXht11209 \cf15 Leto\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and, therefore, belonged to the second generation of Olympian gods. The circumstances of her birth, which took place on the island of \cf11 \b \cf15 \ATXht10403 Delos\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , were the same as th
ose of her twin brother \b \cf15 \ATXht9 Apollo\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , except that she was the first to emerge from her mother's womb and then assisted her in the birth of her brother. The cult and mythical traditions associated with Artemis took on differen
t nuances in the different eras and regions in which she was venerated. Indeed in some places (such as Ionia) she was even considered the daughter of \cf13 \b \cf15 \ATXht11 Demeter\b0 \cf13 \ATXht0 \cf7 and linked to the great rites of fertility and t
he earth. In general, however, she was regarded as the female counterpart of Apollo and embodied the same characteristics.\par
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The virgin goddess \i par excellence\i0 , Artemis' severe and wild character had a youthful quality. Armed with a silver
bow, arrows, and quiver, given to her by the \b \cf15 \ATXht10336 Cyclopes\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , she took pleasure only in the hunt, in long pursuits of the stags that she hunted in woods and ravines, along with her dogs and the wild beasts that obeyed her.
She was accompanied in her activities by the\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11410 Nymphs\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and by a group of girls called \i arktoi\i0 (she-bears), who devoted their lives to her and took strict vows of chastity. Any of the virgins who lost their v
irginity, as happened to \b \cf15 \ATXht10303 Callisto\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , invoked the wrath of Artemis. She used her bow to inflict sudden and painless death on mortals and was the means by which disease and plague were spread among human beings and anima
ls. On women, she caused death in childbirth.\par
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She fought against the\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10703 Giants\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and with her brother devoted herself to the systematic persecution of their mother's enemies. She transfixed \b \cf15 \ATXht12015 Tityus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 when he tried to rape \b \cf15 \ATXht11209 Leto\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 and took part in the extermination of \b \cf15 \ATXht11408 Niobe\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 's children. Her victims included the hunter\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10105 Actaeon\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who had seen her bathing naked, and the giant\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11508 Orion\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 ,\cf7 who figures in many myths. In some of these he sought to use violence against the goddess or dared to challenge her at discus t
hrowing (both acts which called for revenge); other sources declare that the killing of Orion by Artemis was involuntary.\par
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Artemis appears in many legends, all connected with the theme of hunting.\par
From\b \ATXht303 \cf15 \ATXht10811 Heracl
es\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , she demanded a justification for the killing of her \b \cf15 \ATXht303 sacred hind\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . She punished\b \ATXht10115 \cf15 Agamemnon\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 for the same reason by ordering him to sacrifice\b \cf0 \ATXht10912 \cf15 Iphigenia\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . As goddess of the hunt she was honored in all wild and mountainous regions, such as Arcadia, Laconia, and Elis, and for this reason, as well as her refusal to submit to any man, was seen as the protectress of the\b \ATXht10124 \cf15 Amazons\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . But she was also\b \cf15 \ATXht11905 Selene\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , personification of the moon, just as her brother Apollo was a personification of\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11624 Phoebus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , the sun.
