quickly to her mother’s aid, took deadly aim with her bow and arrow,
and slew him.
Another time, arrogant and unwise Niobe made the mistake of
insulting Leto, boasting that she, Niobe, had many beautiful sons
and daughters, while Leto had only two. Leto called on Artemis and
Apollo to avenge this insult, which they speedily did. With their
bows and arrows, Apollo killed her six sons and Artemis slew her
six daughters. And Niobe was changed into a weeping pillar of
stone.
It is noteworthy that Artemis repeatedly came to her mother’s aid.
No other goddess is known for this. Other women also successfully
appealed to her. The woodland nymph, Arethusa, called to Artemis
as she was about to be raped. Arethusa had returned from a hunt,
undressed, and was refreshing herself with a swim, when the god
of the river became desirous of her and pursued the naked nymph,
who fled in terror. Artemis heard her cry, rescued her in a cloud of
mist, and transformed her into a spring of water.
Artemis was merciless to those who offended her—as blundering
Actaeon discovered. While wandering in the forest, the hunter
Actaeon accidently came on the goddess and her nymphs bathing
in a hidden pool, and gawked at the sight. Offended by this intrusion,
Artemis splashed water into Actaeon’s face, which turned him into
a stag. He became quarry for his own hunting dogs, who pursued
him. In a panic, he tried to flee, but was overtaken and torn to bits.
Artemis also killed another hunter, Orion, whom she loved. This
death was inadvertent, provoked by Apollo, who was offended by
Artemis’s love for Orion. One day, Apollo saw Orion as he waded
in the sea, his head just above the water. Apollo then found Artemis
some distance away, pointed to a dark object in the ocean, and said
she could not hit it. Goaded by her brother’s challenge and not
knowing that she was aiming at the head of Orion, she let fly an ar-
row that killed him. Afterward, Artemis placed Orion among the
stars and gave him one of her own hounds, Sirius the Dog Star, to
accompany him across the heavens. Thus, the one man she loved
became a casualty of her competitive nature.
Although she is most known as the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis
was also Goddess of the Moon. She was at home in
Goddesses in Everywoman