Welcome to the channel!
This episode's a little different because it was decided on by you.
Well maybe not you specifically, but some of you out there did vote.
I asked you which Olympian god I should make a video about next
and you chose Artemis:
goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, the moon, and virginity.
It's worth noting that her twin brother Apollo came in second place.
As the channel grows, I invite you to get involved in the conversation.
If you're already subscribed, then you have access to the polls on YouTube so you can vote for the next topic.
And if you're not subscribed yet--what are you waiting for?
Pause the video and hit that button now!
There's really a lot to unpack when it comes to Artemis...
so sit back, make yourself comfortable and, if you're ready, let's dive in!
Something I noticed while researching Artemis is how fiercely independent she is.
Of course she's beautiful and in that regard isn't so different from the other goddesses.
But one thing that really sets her apart is that she's a hunter. Typically a job only held by men.
She's also incredibly athletic, isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and is basically the best archer there is.
With perhaps only her twin brother Apollo as competition.
Artemis asserted her independence from the get-go.
In fact the first condition she demanded of her father Zeus was to remain forever a childless virgin.
She's kind of like that eccentric, introverted friend that we all know and love.
Sappho, who lived well over two and a half thousand years ago,
was one of the most brilliant poets to ever live,
and just happened to be a fiercely independent woman herself.
Here's how she described the goddess:
Artemis made a vow and swore the gods' great oath:
"By your head, I will remain a virgin always
hunting upon the peaks of lonely mountains.
Come, nod your head, grant me this favor." So she said.
The Father of the blessed gods consented,
and so the gods and people, too, call her Deershooter
and also Virgin Huntress, a mighty title.
And Eros never approaches her.
As a so-called virgin goddess, she's a lot like her half-sister Athena.
But keep in mind that the word for virgin and unmarried were basically the same in the ancient Greek world.
So virginity could simply mean that she's single and not that she's against sex.
But the end of Sappho's poem does say that Eros, who was the god of sexual desire and where we get our word erotic from,
never approaches her.
So maybe she's... just not interested.
But it's really none of our business
and I find it a little odd that none of the male gods are ever referred to as virgins.
In other regards she's the polar opposite of Athena,
who likes to involve herself with human affairs like war and civilization.
Artemis doesn't care about any of that.
She just wants to chill in the woods with a select group of her nymph lady friends...
far from us noisy and complicated mortals, especially us guys.
She thrives best in the untrodden corners of the Earth.
She's what we might call a mystic.
Someone who's a bit... weird.
Which, by the way, originally meant to have the supernatural power to control destiny.
So if anyone ever calls you a weirdo just smile politely and thank them for the compliment.
Here's how she's described in a Homeric hymn from the 8th century BC:
I sing of Artemis, whose arrows are of gold, who cheers on the hounds, the pure maiden,
shooter of stags, who delights in archery...
Over the shadowy hills and windy peaks she draws her golden bow,
rejoicing in the chase, and sends out grievous arrows.
The tops of the high mountains tremble
and the tangled wood echoes awesomely with the outcry of beasts...
I find the use of the word grievous very interesting
because the word means to cause severe pain, suffering or sorrow.
Although Artemis was a protectress of girls and women
as well as a divinity of birth and healing,
her arrows were also known to bring disease and death.
This is why worshippers of Artemis had an equal dose of respect and fear for this goddess of contradictions.
In her famous collection of the Greek myths known as "Mythology"
published in 1942, Edith Hamilton wrote:
In Artemis is shown most vividly the uncertainty between good and evil,
which is apparent in every one of the divinities.
The Cypress was sacred to her and all wild animals...
but especially the deer.
She was the Lady of Wild Things, huntsman-in-chief to the gods;
an odd office for a woman.
Like a good huntsman, she was careful to preserve the young.
She was the protectress of dewey youth everywhere.
Nevertheless, with one of those startling contradictions so common in mythology,
she kept the Greek fleet from sailing to Troy until they sacrificed a maiden to her.
In many another story, too, she's fierce and revengeful.
On the other hand...
when women died a swift and painless death
they were held to have been slain by her silver arrows.
Storytellers have immortalized Artemis for nearly 3,000 years now.
Not only in their poetry, but also in the paintings found on classical Greek pottery.
She also makes appearances on ancient currency such as these beautiful silver coins.
But perhaps no image of Artemis is more famous than this Roman sculpture
believed to be a copy of a bronze Greek original.
She remained a popular subject in works of art over the centuries.
You can usually tell it's her when you see any of the following:
her bow and arrow, of course, described as either silver or gold,
the presence of a deer, stag, or her hunting hound,
and the crescent moon.
This brings us to how Artemis became connected with the moon
and how she's often confused with other goddesses.
Let's see if we can sort this out.
So her brother Apollo, also an Olympian, descended from a much older Titan:
the sun god named Helios with whom the poets often confused him.
Artemis was likewise the descendant of a Titan called Selene who was goddess of the moon
Later poets of course added to the confusion by identifying Artemis with someone named Hecate
who combines the three goddesses into one form:
Selene in the sky, Artemis on Earth, and Hecate in the lower world.
Hecate was the goddess of the Dark of the Moon...
the black nights when the moon is hidden.
The goddess of the Crossways, which were held to be ghostly places of magic.
She had hounds, too, just like Artemis, who could be heard growling in the darkness.
It's said that wherever three roads meet--there she is standing!
Some say that Hecate was originally an aspect of Artemis prior to Artemis being adopted into the Olympian pantheon.
At that point, Artemis would become more strongly associated with purity and maidenhood on the one hand...
while her association with magic and the night
would have continued to be worshipped separately under her title Hecate.
So while Hecate operated by the Dark of the Moon,
Artemis was connected with the Crescent Moon
as it waxes and appears to grow a little fuller each night,
much like a pregnant belly.
You see, the monthly cycle of the moon and even the words moon and month are linked to menstrual cycles.
And Artemis was often called upon by her followers
during times of transition such as pregnancy and childbirth.
The moon's phases also represent the cyclical totality of life:
its birth, its fullness... its inevitable decline.
but always beginning again with the birth of a New Moon.
And on that rather serious note, I think this is actually a good place to stop
We have a great overview of Artemis now which sets us up for a future video.
And if you need something to watch in the meantime,
a few videos for you to enjoy should appear on your screen right about... now.
Let me know what you thought of this video in the comments.
Do you love it? Do you hate it? If you do... just be gentle.
As always, thanks so much for watching!