Comments (Meaning / History Only)

The Greek word artemes means not only safe, but also healthy, strong, bright, shiny.
Artemis is also a Persian name, a variant on the name Artemisia. Because present day Turkey was once part of Persia (and vice-versa), it is also considered by some to be a Turkish name.In Old Persian, "Arta" suggests correctness, rightness, or divine truth. "Miz" is a suffix that suggests to speak, to say. So the name suggests the meaning, "speaker of the truth".It is unknown whether the historical Persian figure associated with this name had a name which derived directly from the Indo-European roots, from a common root name which the goddess Artemis also was named for, or whether she happened to be named for the Greek goddess Artemis.According to Wikipedia, Artemis I of Caria "was an ancient Carian queen of the Achaemenid Persian satrapy province of Caria, mostly known through the writings of Herodotus for taking the side of the Persian king Xerxes during the Greco-Persian wars. Her father was the satrap of Halicarnassus Lygdamis I (Greek: Λύγδαμις Α') [1][2] and her mother was from the island of Crete.[3][4] She took the throne after the death of her husband, as she had a son, named Pisindelis (Greek: Πισίνδηλις), who was still a youth.[5][6]She was an ally of Xerxes I during the Second Persian invasion of Greece. She fought at the naval Battle of Artemisium[7] and the naval Battle of Salamis at 480 BC as a commander in the Persian navy. She was the only female commander.Her grandson, Lygdamis II, was the ruler of Halicarnassus when Herodotus left from there.Herodotus praises her decisiveness and her intelligence and emphasizes her influence on Xerxes."
Artemis is the Greek goddess of the hunt, the moon, and the patron of young girls/maidens. Not marriage or fertility, that's Hera and Demeter.
Originally, Artemis was the goddess and protector of wild plants and woodland creatures, as well as young women (I am not sure about virginity). The "goddess of the hunt" came later. (Or so I have read.)
Hera, Zeus' wife, was angry at Zeus and forbade Leto from giving birth on land (presumably the mainland) or sea. Leto found the (possibly floating) island of Delos, which was later grounded (if indeed it was floating; the legends vary). There, Leto gave birth to Artemis. Three days later, Apollo was born with his sister's help. This is only one of many legends of Artemis' birth. Another is that Zeus transformed Leto into a quail so Hera couldn't find her. Artemis was one of the few virgin goddesses and the goddess of the forests, hills, and hunt, odd since she was a woman and hunting was typically a man's domain. When she was young, she sat upon her father's lap and asked for: 1) eternal virginity and to never be bound by marriage, 2) hounds for her hunt, 3) stags for her chariot, 4) nymphs for her hunting companions, 60 from the sea and 20 from land and, 5) a silver bow to match her brother's. All her wishes were granted. My personal favourite myth regarding the goddess is of her and Orion, the hunter. The two were close, but he died and was put among the stars. For more on his deaths, see Orion. Artemis also resided over maidens (unmarried women). Later, she became a goddess of fertility and childbirth and associated with the moon through the Titan Selene. Her animal was the deer and her tree the cypress. Her symbol was the silver bow and arrow. Another of her names is Cynthia.
Artemis is the Greek Goddess of animals. She is a shapeshifter and is stunningly beautiful.
The goddess Artemis has been mentioned in the bible I think two or three times.
She is known by several names: Munychia; Artemis of Ephesus; Diana [Roman]; Artume [Etruscan], Mythology Cynthia [from her birthplace on Mt. Cyntus], and Phoebe. She is the goddess of the chase, the hunt, the night, fruitfulness, childbirth, woodland wilderness, dance/play, the bull, fertility, the virgin moon, healing, chastity, virginity, war, mothers, foster mothers, and health. She is the mistress of wild beasts and war.
Places of worship: Amazon,
Asia Minor [principal deity], Brauron, Ephesus, Greece [not heavily worshipped in mainland], Palestine, Sparta, and Rome.
Miscellaneous information: all beasts thought sacred; symbols bow and arrow; torch; eternal virginity. Effigy appears with multiple breasts, but later found to represent the testes of a bull. Had fanatical temple worship. At puberty, girls were initiated into the cult of Artemis; married just after. They laid all the trimmings of virginity [toys, dolls, hair] on the altar. Assisted her mother in the delivery of her twin Apollo. Ephesus Asian Center of worship now one of the 7 wonders of the world. Found references to her in Acts 19:23-40 and Acts 19:28 of the Holy Bible.
Correction: Artemis, though certainly beautiful enough to attract several gods, was the goddess of virginity, and childbirth, not mothers. She was also the patroness of young women and children.
She, as the goddess of the hunt, was not very feminine. She was wild and independent, and was not interested in men. She acted in a way most people would refer to as tomboyish. She wore short skirts to free her legs for movement.
Also a moon goddess, although the ruler of the night itself was Nyx, not Artemis. The Artemis mentioned in the Bible was in fact this Artemis. One of the Apostles was endangered because he tried to convert her worshipers and they were outraged. She was in no way Biblical. Calling myths "ridiculous" is foolish as it is part of one of the richest cultures in the history of mankind and a most fascinating subject.

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