Artemis
Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, wilderness and chastity in ancient Greek religion, twin sister of Apollo. She is documented from the oldest surviving sources — the Homeric poems and Hesiod's Theogony, around the 8th century BCE.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-20
Historical fact
Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. Greek cult of Artemis varied strikingly by region: the Artemis of Ephesus, whose temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was depicted with a distinctive multi-breasted or egg-like iconography associated with fertility and abundance — quite different in character from the lean virgin-huntress Artemis more typically emphasized in Athens and mainland Greek sources.
Interpretation — Greek Tradition (Homer and Hesiod)
In the oldest Greek sources, Artemis is portrayed as mistress of wild animals (Potnia Theron) and protector of the young, especially of young women before marriage, as well as a goddess of chastity who demanded exclusive devotion from her followers — as in the myth of Callisto, punished for becoming pregnant by Zeus while serving the goddess. Her identity varied so much between Greek regions that the Ephesian Artemis barely resembled, in iconography and function, the Athenian huntress.
Interpretation — Roman Tradition (syncretism)
In Roman religion, Artemis was assimilated as Diana, who had a famous temple on the Aventine Hill, traditionally said to have been founded as a shared sanctuary for the Latin League (an alliance of Latin city-states) under Roman leadership — giving Diana's Roman cult a distinct political function as a symbol of Latin unity that the Greek Artemis's regional cults didn't carry in the same way.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does the Artemis of Ephesus look so different from other depictions of the goddess?
- Greek cult of Artemis varied strongly by region; at Ephesus, whose temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, she was associated with fertility and depicted with multi-breasted or egg-like iconography, quite unlike the virgin huntress emphasized in Athens and the rest of mainland Greece.
- What was the political role of Diana's temple on the Aventine Hill?
- Diana's temple on the Aventine was traditionally said to have been founded jointly by the Latin League under Roman leadership, functioning as a symbol of unity among the Latin cities — a political dimension that Greek cult of Artemis did not carry in the same way.
Sources
- Hesiod. Theogony (c. 700 BCE).
- Homer. The Iliad (c. 8th century BCE).
- Robert Graves. The Greek Myths (1955).
- Walter Burkert. Greek Religion (1985).