Memories of Artemis

Zeus, my father, was known for his numerous love affairs. Wherever he went, he became infatuated. One of his lovers was Leto, my beloved mother, the goddess of childhood.

Hera, having guessed her husband's next betrayal, followed him. She punished not Zeus, but my mother. She ensured that Leto could not give birth to me anywhere on land, only on the small island of Delos.

During the birth it turned out that there were two of us, me and Apollo.

I was born first. I think I absorbed a love for children and helping others while still in my mother's womb, and as a result, I helped my mother give birth to my twin brother.

As a child, I was very sensitive to the suffering of children. I often supported and helped them when they were sad. I enjoyed bringing smiles back to their faces. The children loved me and hailed me as their goddess. I became their patron saint.

Perhaps because I helped deliver my twin brother, women have named me the patron saint of midwifery. I've never had a child myself, but I've seen the pain of childbirth. Unfortunately, there have been cases where women have bled to death. I've accepted this responsibility and helped whenever possible during these difficult times.

I loved animals. They lack common human traits, such as envy or hypocrisy. When cared for, animals can reciprocate with boundless devotion and affection.

People appreciated my kind nature. They built many temples for me. The two most famous were the enormous sanctuary in Ephesus, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and a more modest one, surrounded by vast forests, right on the Strait of Aulis. There, I was named Artemis of Aulis.

It was near the aforementioned strait that I loved to wander for days in the sacred grove. Among the trees, with the nymphs and my beloved deer, we spent entire days together. He was wise, he knew and understood everything. We often hunted together.

Today, you often picture me with a bow and a deer. That's how you remember me.

People have done me great harm.

In the Strait of Aulis, just off the island of Euboea, ships from all over Greece arrived to embark on the Trojan War. Not to mention the battles, which I've always opposed. Innocent children die in them. I wasn't a patron of war, so I didn't interfere, but Agamemnon overstepped all bounds.

Bored, he entered the sacred grove and killed my most beloved deer. Apparently, he was hungry. To say I was furious would be an understatement. In my rage of despair, I stopped the winds, preventing the warships from sailing and starting the Trojan War. He realized his mistake and apologized. So what, he didn't bring my sacred deer back to life.

Furious, I demanded he sacrifice Iphigenia, his beloved daughter. I wanted him to feel the pain too. He was an evil man, so determined to conquer Troy that he was willing to kill his own child. He brought the poor girl to the temple and wanted to sacrifice her to me.

Some say I accepted the gift, others that I spared her life. Let this remain a secret, but remember, I was the patron saint of children and would never harm them.

As I mentioned, I never had children of my own. I never had a lover or a husband. Athena, Hestia, and I were virgins. Men didn't interest me. They were possessive, needing constant attention and validation. In my opinion, they were weak.

I never yielded to any. Once, a huntsman named Actaeon spied on me while I was bathing. He wanted to possess me. In anger, I turned him into a stag. I later heard that his own hunting dogs devoured him, unaware that he was their master.

Alpheius fell in love with one of my nymphs, named Arethusa. She did not reciprocate. I helped her hide on the island of Euboea. There, I transformed her into a spring of fresh water. The admirer was not easily deceived. Hidden in an underground waterway, he followed her and emerged in the exact same place as the nymph. The waters became inextricably linked, a fact still evidenced today by the Spring of Arethusa on the outskirts of the modern city of Chalkida on Evia.