Guillaume Seignac, Diana the Huntress, 19th century, Private Collection.
Today we're talking about "girl power" with Artemis. Greek goddess of the Moon, of the Hunt and associated with the Woman, she is also known as Diana, her Roman version. She is not the passive beauty type like Danae who is always being locked up: in a tower of bronze, in a drifting chest and finally walled up alive.
Artemis is the adulterous daughter of Leto and Zeus - who, to be honest, is a bit like the Harvey Weinstein of mythology. Obviously Hera, her official, is not happy about this pregnancy and decides not only to forbid any city to welcome Leto but also to kidnap the goddess of childbirth Ilithyia. Fortunately Poseidon brings the island of Delos out of the sea where Leto will give birth.
Artemis, just out of the origin of the world, helps her mother to give birth to her brother Apollo. This is why she presides over the different stages of a woman's life, from virginity to puberty and from adult to mother. Moreover, as the twin sister of the Sun god, she is attributed the Moon as well as the Hunt - because she adores the woods and wild animals.
In art history she is more often depicted as Diana, sometimes with a moon-shaped tiara and always with her bow and arrow.
While we're on the subject of tiaras, have a look at our head jewellery.
Our goddess obtains weapons from Hephaestus, dogs from Pan and sets off to explore the forest with her girl gang of nymphs. There she crosses paths with Actaeon. Or to be more precise, he is rinsing his eye while Artemis is taking a bath. The goddess doesn't eat that kind of bread, so she turns Actaeon into a stag and has him eaten by her dogs.
James Ward, Diana at the Bath, 1830, New Haven, Yale Center for British Art
Artemis places great importance on chastity. Callisto will pay the price of the divine family when she is surprised by Zeus (always in the right mood) who has taken the appearance of Artemis - more deceitful, we haven't found - to seduce her. If you are familiar with Greek mythology, you know that contraception was not really in vogue at the time, so Callisto gets pregnant. Artemis turns her and her offspring into bears. They are saved in extremis from the clutches of the hunters by Zeus who, for once, assumes his responsibilities and transforms them into constellations: the little and the big bear.
Antique gold and pearl crescent moon necklace
Artemis for her part, after her unhappy love affair with Orion - who also joins the stars following an archery duel between Apollo and Artemis, who is unaware that the target is the head of the beloved, all of which was instigated by Apollo (with Zeus they could probably have won a group prize in family therapy) - becomes infatuated with Endymion and keeps him asleep so that she can contemplate him and kiss him leisurely. One might say that the apple didn't fall far from the tree...
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