of two Titans; their father was Zeus, chief god of Olympus.
When it was time for Leto to give birth to her children, great
obstacles arose. She was unwelcome everywhere she turned, because
others feared the vindictive wrath of Hera, the lawful wife of Zeus.
Finally, on the barren island of Delos, she found refuge and gave
birth to Artemis.
As soon as she was born, Artemis aided Leto during the prolonged
labor and difficult delivery of Apollo. For nine days and nine nights,
Leto suffered atrocious pain, because of Hera’s vengeful efforts.
Artemis, who had been a midwife to her mother, was thus also
considered a goddess of childbirth. Women addressed her as
“helper in pain, whom no pain touches.” They prayed to her to end
their pain, either through the birth of a baby or through “a kindly
death” from her arrows.^1
When Artemis was three years old, Leto brought her to Olympus,
to meet Zeus and her divine relatives. The poet Callimachus, in his
“Hymn to Artemis,” describes her sitting on the lap of her enchanted
father, Zeus, “who leaned down and caressed her, saying, when
goddesses bear me children like this, the wrath of jealous Hera
troubles me very little. Little daughter, you shall have all you de-
sire.”^2
Artemis asked for a bow and arrows, a pack of hounds to hunt
with, nymphs to accompany her, a tunic short enough to run in,
mountains and wilderness as her special places, and eternal
chastity—all of which her father granted, plus the privilege of
making the selections herself.
Artemis then went to the woods and river to choose the most
beautiful nymphs. She went beneath the sea to find the Cyclopes,
Poseidon’s craftsmen, to forge her silver bow and arrows. And fi-
nally, with bow in hand, followed by her nymphs, she sought out
Pan, the half-man, half-goat, pipe-playing nature deity, and asked
for some of his best hounds. As night was coming on, impatient to
try out her new gifts, she hunted by torchlight.
In the myths, Artemis acted swiftly and decisively to protect and
rescue those who appealed to her for help. She was also quick to
punish those who offended her.
Once, when her mother Leto was on her way to Delphi to visit
Apollo, the giant Tityus tried to rape her. Artemis came
Artemis: Goddess of the Hunt and Moon, Competitor and Sister