EP 59: Artemis Redux

In this latest episode, we revisit the towering goddess Artemis, who reveled in the hunt, yet also protected girls, women and young animals. Of all the divinities, she was the most paradoxical.

If you love this podcast, you'll also enjoy Garner's audible novels about the gods, The Winnowing and Homo Divinitas, available on Amazon.com and Audible.com.

Transcript

PODCAST #59  ARTEMIS REDUX

IN MY FIRST NOVEL, THE WINNOWING, THERE’S A PASSAGE WHERE THE PROTAGONIST, A MAN NAMED JACK, IS STARTLED AS HE SEES A LARGE ANIMAL WANDERING IN HIS BACK WOODS. 

BESIDE HIM IS A YOUNG WOMAN NAMED LAINE, WHO — AS THE STORY EVOLVES — TURNS OUT TO BE THE MIGHTY LACHESIS, ONE OF THE THREE FATES.

THE TWO STAND IN THE WOODS, SUDDENLY AWARE OF ACTIVITY. JACKS RELATES,

"I noticed movement in the field. A stag ambled through the grasses. Six prongs with dark rub marks, the same one I’d seen earlier ...

"The low-angled morning sun shone on its fur. Staring casually toward me with incurious eyes, it shook its antlers and walked to the brook, bending to drink.

I said, “Laine! A buck—”

Yes, she said. “Artemis attracts them. She protects them and she kills them. Both. It’s never certain which she’ll do. An odd contradiction. They’re known as spirit bucks. They die and reappear.” 

"The stag straightened and without looking left or right, leapt the stream and ambled off, disappearing into the browns and grays, the sun-flecked brush ...”

YOU NOTICE I USED THE WORD CONTRADICTION. AS YOU'LL HEAR THROUGH THIS EPISODE, CONTRADICTION & PARADOX ARE THE THEMES THAT UNDERLIE ANY STORY  ABOUT THE GREAT OLYMPIC GODDESS ARTEMIS.

MORE THAN 50 EPISODES AGO, I DEDICATED A PODCAST TO ARTEMIS. ITS PROVEN TO BE ONE OF THE MORE POPULAR EPISODES. SINCE ITS RELEASE IT'S BEEN DOWNLOADED MORE THAN 10,000 TIMES.

IN THIS FOLLOW UP, I'LL FILL IN A FEW BLANKS IN MY ACCOUNT OF THIS GRAND DIVINITY, WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO A GODDESS I CONSIDER THE MOST FASCINATING OF THE OLYMPIC GODS. 

SHE WAS APOLLO'S SISTER, & HER EYES WERE A PIERCING GRAY-BLUE. SHE WAS A FEARSOME HUNTER, A PROTECTRESS OF YOUNG GIRLS, AS WELL AS BEING A FRIEND TO ATHENE & HESTIA.

SONG 17 OF THE HOMERIC HYMNS PRAISES HER, SAYING,

"CLAMOROUS HUNTRESS; WITH GOLDEN ARROWS,

THE TERRIBLE VIRGIN ASSAULTER OF STAGS,

APOLLO'S SISTER WHOSE RITUAL SWORD IS BRIGHT;

SHE WHO TAKES HER DELIGHT IN THE CHASE AS SHE BENDS HER GOLDEN BOW &

LAUNCHES DEADLY SHOTS … AH! WHEN SHE SHOOTS, THE LOFTY MOUNTAINTOPS TREMBLE, THE FORESTS RESOUND, THE UNDERBRUSH ECHOES

& THE EARTH SHIVERS AT THE COMPLAINTS OF THE BEASTS SHE STRIKES ..."

THE GREEKS BELIEVED THAT THIS SONG, CHANTED AT SACRIFICES, WAS WRITTEN BY THE GREAT POET HOMER HIMSELF

HIS SONGS WERE CREATED TO REVEAL & UNDERLINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DIVINE & HUMAN WORLDS. 

PART OF OUR FASCINATION WITH ARTEMIS IS THAT SHE WAS INSCRUTABLE, EVEN PARADOXICAL. THERE WAS SO MUCH MORE TO HER THAN THERE WAS TO, SAY, ZEUS' JEALOUS WIFE HERA. 

THAT BEING SO, WE'LL PULL BACK THE "MYTHOLOGICAL" VEIL THAT HAS OBSCURED HER FOR SO LONG & LOOK A LITTLE MORE DEEPLY INTO THE GODDESS. 

SHE ALONE AMONG THE GODS ROAMED THE  MOUNTAINTOPS & FORESTS, KNEW EVERY SACRED GROVE & CELEBRATED EVERY UNTAMED RIVER THAT RAN THROUGH THE WILDLANDS OF GREECE ...

— 

WELCOME TO EPISODE 59 OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. WE HAVE LISTENERS FROM OVER 185 COUNTRIES ... SO WELCOME TO EVERYONE, WHEREVER YOU ARE.

I'M YOUR HOST, MYTHOLOGIST PATRICK GARNER. REMEMBER TO VISIT AMAZON TO CHECK OUT MY FOUR BOOKS ABOUT THE GREEK GODS IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD. TOGETHER THEY’RE CALLED THE NAXOS QUARTET.

MY NOVELS HAVE BEEN BEST SELLERS. THEY'RE GREAT ENTERTAINMENT & ECHO THE THEMES IN THIS PODCAST.  

AS YOU KNOW, THE GREEK GODS WERE AN AMORAL BUNCH, SO SOME OF THE CONTENT IS BEST SUITED FOR MATURE READERS.

AS AN ASIDE, TWO OF THE NOVELS ARE NOW AVAILABLE AS AUDIO BOOKS.

YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM & THIS PODCAST AT PATRICK GARNER BOOKS DOT COM. SO VISIT MY WEBSITE, THEN LINK OVER TO AMAZON & TREAT YOURSELF!

— 

ARTEMIS HAD NO LOVERS AS SHE WAS A VIRGIN GODDESS. SHE EMBRACED CHASTITY & WAS A STRONG PROTECTOR OF GIRLS.

UNLIKE HER SISTER, ATHENE, WHO WATCHED OVER ATHENS, ARTEMIS HAD NO MAJOR CITIES NAMED FOR HER.

PERHAPS THIS WAS SO BECAUSE SHE WAS PORTRAYED AS STEADILY IMPLACABLE ... IMPLACABLE  ... WHAT DO I MEAN BY THAT? 

I MEAN NOTHING BOTHERED HER EVEN WHEN SHE WAS UNDER ATTACK. SHE PRESENTED HERSELF AS RETICENT, CLEAR-EYED, UNWAVERING & RELENTLESS. 

SHE WAS THOUGHT OF AS BEING HARD AS BRONZE, AND LATER AS HARD AS THE NEW SILVER-COLORED METAL THAT REPLACED BRONZE … IRON …

BUT HER SEVERITY DID NOT MEAN SHE WAS HEARTLESS. NO, IT WAS QUITE THE OPPOSITE. I'D CHARACTERIZE HER INSTEAD AS FIERCE WHEN NECESSARY, & EVEN — PERHAPS — TEMPESTUOUS WHEN CROSSED.

YET AS DANGEROUS AS SHE COULD BE, SHE CARED DEEPLY FOR GIRLS, WOMEN AND YOUNG ANIMALS. AMONG THE GODS, SHE ALONE WAS THEIR GREAT CHAMPION ...

— 

THE GREEKS HAD A SAYING ABOUT HER … THEY WOULD WHISPER THAT THE GODDESS WHO LOVED TO HUNT ALSO LOVED & PROTECTED ALL THINGS THAT SUCKLED.

AND THIS PARADOX — THE SUBERB HUNTER WHO WAS ALSO THE ONE DIVINITY WHO PROTECTED THE WEAK — MADE HER UNIQUE.

WE DON'T NORMALLY EQUATE A COMPULSIVE HUNTER WITH ONE WHO IS ALSO THE GUARDIAN OF THE INNOCENT & A PROTECTOR OF NEW LIFE.

YET TO THE GREEKS, IT WAS TOTALLY BELIEVABLE THAT A GODDESS COULD SHELTER THE YOUNG, WHILE DELIGHTING IN A BLOOD HUNT.

IF WE DIG DOWN A LITTLE, THIS CONTRADICTION BECOMES EVEN MORE COMPLICATED BECAUSE ARTEMIS WAS ALSO SEEN AS AN AGENT OF DEATH.

ANY UNEXPECTED DEATH OF A WOMAN WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THE SUDDEN & UNERRING ARROWS OF ARTEMIS.

FOR INSTANCE, IN HOMER'S ODYSSEY, WHEN ODYSSEUS MEETS HIS MOTHER'S SHADE UNEXPECTEDLY IN HADES, HE ASKS HER TEARFULLY HOW SHE DIED.

"WAS IT AN ILLNESS?" HE WHISPERS. "OR DID ARTEMIS, THE ARCHER-GODDESS, VISIT YOU, BRINGING YOU DOWN WITH HER GENTLE SHAFTS?"

IN RESPONSE, HIS MOTHER WEEPS UNCONTROLLABLY.

— 

THE GODDESS WHO DEFENDED THE YOUNG SURROUNDED HERSELF WITH NYMPHS. 

IT WAS SAID SHE HAD ALMOST A 100. THEIR AGES RANGED FROM 8 TO 20, & LIKE THE GODDESS HERSELF, THEY NEVER AGED.

ARTEMIS REQUIRED UNFAILING CHASTITY OF THEM, WHICH SHE HERSELF PRACTICED. THE NYMPHS FOLLOWED HER ON THE HUNT, & ATTENDED TO HER NEEDS. 

NYMPHS ... WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THEM BEFORE. YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT THEY WERE BELIEVED TO INHABIT SPRINGS & FOREST GLADES & WILD LANDS.

LIKE ARTEMIS THEY WERE DIVINE, BUT WERE LESS POWERFUL THAN THE GODS. 

THEY ATTENDED GODDESSES & NEVER GODS. ALTHOUGH THEY WERE DEFERENTIAL TO WHATEVER GODDESS THEY SERVED, THEY WERE CONTENT, & HONORED FOR THEIR WORK.

THE GREEKS CONSIDERED THEM PERSONIFICATIONS OF NATURE. AND HOW DID ARTEMIS END UP WITH A GAGGLE OF THESE SPIRITED GIRLS?

AT AN EARLY AGE SHE ASKED HER FATHER, ZEUS, FOR A PRESENT. THE GIFT SHE WANTED WAS TO BE SURROUNDED BY NYMPHS OF ALL AGES. 

AND ZEUS, UNABLE TO RESIST ARTEMIS' CHARMS & HER RELENTLESS PLEADING, GRANTED HER WISH.

THEREAFTER, WHEN SHE WAS ON A HUNT, SHE WAS ATTENDED BY A DOZEN OR MORE OF THESE WILD, ALMOST FERAL GIRLS.

WHEN I SAY THEY ARE ALMOST FERAL, I MEAN THAT — AT ARTEMIS' COMMAND — THEY WOULD IN AN INSTANT RELEASE ARROWS INTO ANY ANIMAL THEY PURSUED. 

I'LL NOTE TOO THAT NYMPHS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN ALL OF MY NOVELS. THEY ARE ACKNOWLEDGED AS HAVING BRILLIANT MINDS.

IN MY BOOK, THE WINNOWING, I DESCRIBE A GRUESOME SCENE THAT TAKES PLACE IN CONNECTICUT IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICA.

IN A FORESTED AREA BEHIND A LARGE MANSION, ARTEMIS IS BATHING IN A SPRING  WITH HER NYMPHS. SHE DETECTS A MAN SPYING ON THEM. 

HERE'S A BRIEF SECTION FROM MY BOOK WHICH DESCRIBES WHAT HAPPENS. IT'S NARRATED BY THE PROTAGONIST, JACK, WHO WATCHES FROM AFAR:

"As the man stumbled onto the far bank of the pool, he pulled a cellphone from his pocket. Its edges shone dully in the stillness. 

“Let’s get a video of this whole drunken group,” he said, raising the phone. At that moment, Artemis pointed at him: the air crackled.

"Instantly, the man was wrapped in thin blue flames that mimicked the electrical dance of a Tesla coil. Hot streamer arcs of purple fire popped around his flesh. Delicate corona discharges sang, filaments shot six and seven feet from his body, his face gone, obscured in hot ribbons of light.

"Artemis dropped her arm, the electrical discharges fading. A faint haze drifted in the man’s vicinity, and when it cleared, an old, unsteady stag stood in his place. 

"It looked around uncomprehendingly, fear shooting through its eyes. Then it bolted, running into the woods, charging into a tree, hitting it hard. It fell forward onto its forelegs, then stood and charged again.

"For the animal, running into the tree was calamitous. It gave the bathers time to grab bows. Artemis and the nymphs followed it in a rush. The stag got no farther than 40 feet before leaping a fallen tree. 

"Gracefully rising with its chest high, arrows slammed in a tight circle into its lungs. As it started its descent toward the ground, its legs gave and it collapsed in a heap, struggling to rise, then buckling sideways.

"In a flash the girls surrounded it, one callously opening its eye with her fingers before stepping away. All danced nervously around the carcass, bending and dipping their hands into the blood bubbling from the wounds. 

"I thought: blood-lust, something I’d heard described, but never seen.

"Artemis made a gesture with her head. Several of the girls stooped with knifes and ran a deep incision down its belly. I was close enough to see the stag’s bowels disgorge. 

"Another girl approached with a twenty-foot leather thong. The girls, as if trained, whip-tied the stag’s front feet together, and threw the free end of the thong over a pine branch about ten feet off the ground. I heard excited laughter, whooping from the girls.

"One of the nymphs hacked off a lower leg, chopping at the joint. A second girl pulled the leg out sideways, tearing it away. The leg came free with a start and was passed from girl to girl, each ripping the exposed meat free with her teeth, licking fingers and wiping palms on their waists and hips. At the end, they were smeared with blood, their eyes flashing with a wildness and camaraderie I found frightening.

"Artemis barked a single word, and six of the girls grabbed the leather thong and pulled the hacked stag up vertically so the carcass hung off the ground. 

"Tying off the thong, they exchanged glances and turned to leave, their bodies muscled and lithe. Close enough to hear their breathing, I saw their triumphant eyes..."

THE BOOK AT THAT POINT SHIFTS TO AN EXCHANGE BETWEEN ARTEMIS & JACK. THE GODDESS PRETENDS TO NOTICE HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME. 

HE HAD BELIEVED HIMSELF TO BE HIDDEN. BUT ARTEMIS KNEW TOO WELL THAT HE HAD BEEN WATCHING. JACK RELATES WHAT HAPPENED NEXT:

"I stared into Artemis’s eyes, her gaze fearless. After seconds, she turned without expression and all returned to the pool where the goddess and the nymphs washed themselves, then pulled tunics over their heads and tied sashes into place. 

"The youngest girls ran to retrieve arrows from the stag. As they passed, I was ignored. Once beside the carcass, they pulled the arrows from its belly. With the bloody shafts in hand, they returned to the others and left in single file. 

"After a moment, the woods returned to silence. Still in shock I glanced at the three-legged stag as it swung from the branch..."

— 

RETURNING TO THE PODCAST, I'LL NOTE THAT THIS PASSAGE MIRRORS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS STORIES INVOLVING THE GODDESS. 

IN THIS ANECDOTE, ARTEMIS CONFRONTED A YOUNG MAN NAMED AKTAION, WHO WAS THE GRANDSON OF KADMOS, KING OF THEBES.

AKTAION, LIKE ARTEMIS, WAS A SKILLED, ALMOST OBSESSIVE HUNTER. IRONICALLY, HIS FATE WAS TO BE TURNED INTO A DEER, & THEN TO BE TORN TO PIECES BY HIS OWN HOUNDS.

THERE ARE SEVERAL VERSIONS OF WHAT HAPPENED. THE MOST COMMON ONE IS THAT, WHILE HUNTING, AKTAION CAME ACROSS ARTEMIS BATHING WITH HER NYMPHS. 

RATHER THAN FLEEING FOR HIS LIFE, HE LINGERED TO WATCH. ONE VERSION OF THE INCIDENT IS THAT HE EVEN TRIED TO FORCE HIMSELF ON HER.

IF YOU LISTENED TO MY EPISODE ABOUT ATHENE, THIS SOUNDS SIMILAR TO THE INCIDENT WITH ATHENE & TEIRESIAS. IN THAT CASE, TEIRESIAS, CAUGHT SPYING ON ATHENE, WAS MERELY BLINDED BY THE GODDESS.

ARTEMIS THOUGH WAS HARDLY AS KIND. SHE SPOTTED AKTAION WATCHING HER AS SHE & HER NYMPHS BATHED IN A FOREST SPRING.

OUTRAGED, SHE INSTANTLY TURNED HIM INTO A STAG, ALTHOUGH SHE KEPT HIS MIND HUMAN: AS A RESULT, HE WAS ALL TOO AWARE OF THE FATE AWAITING HIM.

TRYING TO ESCAPE, HE BOUNDED INTO THE FOREST, HIS ANTLERS GLINTING AGAINST THE SUN. BUT HE COULDN'T BREAK FREE.

HIS OWN 50 HOUNDS PURSUED HIM, BAYING & BITING AT HIS LEGS, WHILE HE RAN IN TERROR.

MERE SECONDS PASSED BEFORE THEY DRAGGED HIM DOWN & TORE AKTAION INTO PIECES. ONLY UPON HIS DEATH WAS THE OTHERWISE IMPLACABLE ARTEMIS SATISFIED.

AKTAION WAS FOOLHARDY. OR, I SHOULD SAY, A FOOL. ALL ANCIENT HUNTERS KNEW BETTER. SURPRISING GODDESSES AT THEIR BATH — THEN LINGERING TO WATCH AS THEY BATHED — WAS RECKLESS INDEED. 

LIKE THE INCAUTIOUS MAN IN MY NOVEL, AKTAION PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE.

— 

LET'S SHIFT FOR A MOMENT TO ONE OF ARTEMIS' OTHER INTERESTS — WHICH WAS HER STRANGE AFFINITY WITH BEARS.

HER NAME GIVES US A HINT. THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE NAME ARTEMIS IS ARK-TEMNIS, OR TRANSLATED FROM GREEK, SHE WHO PROTECTS THE BEAR SANCTUARY.

IN A PREVIOUS EPISODE WE TALKED ABOUT HOW ARTEMIS TURNED KALLISTO, ONE OF HER NYMPHS WHO WAS SEDUCED BY ZEUS, INTO A BEAR, RELEASING HER TO WANDER IN THE WILD. 

BECAUSE THE GIRL IN HER COMPLETE INNOCENCE HAD BEEN CORRUPTED BY ZEUS, SHE WAS SPARED DEATH, THE FATE OF ANY NYMPH WHO STRAYED FROM CELIBACY.

IN FACT, SHE WAS SO BELOVED BY ARTEMIS THAT, AT HER DEATH, SHE WAS TRANSFORMED INTO A CONSTELLATION IN THE NORTHERN SKY, THE ONE WE TODAY CALL URSA MAJOR, THE GREAT BEAR … 

THERE ARE OTHER SIMILAR STORIES.

ONCE, TWO ATHENIAN MEN KILLED A BEAR SACRED TO THE GODDESS. IN RESPONSE SHE SENT A PLAGUE THAT WOULD END ONLY IF THE ATHENIANS AGREED TO CONSECRATE THEIR DAUGHTERS TO HER… MEANING THAT ARTEMIS WOULD BE THEIR FAVORED GODDESS.

HAVING NO ALTERNATIVE, THE ATHENIANS CONSENTED. AFTER THEY AGREED, ARTEMIS FOUNDED A SANCTUARY CALLED ARTEMIS BRAURONIA.

THE AUTHORITATIVE WEBSITE ATLAS OBSCURA NOTES THAT, 

"Located on the coast of the Aegean Sea, Brauron was first settled around 3500 B.C. 

"The settlement had varied populations and levels of commerce until the eighth century B.C., when Theseus unified the 12 settlements of Attica into the city of Athens. 

"The former town came to be better known as a religious site, most strongly associated with a cult dedicated to the goddess Artemis."

TODAY ITS RUINS LIE IN Markopoulo Mesogeas, A SEASIDE ENCLAVE IN ATTICA NORTH OF ATHENS.  

IT WAS SAID THAT AGAMEMNON'S DAUGHTER, IPHIGENIA, WHO WAS SAVED FROM CERTAIN DEATH BY ARTEMIS, BECAME HER FIRST PRIESTESS. 

ARTEMIS FOUNDED THE SANCTUARY IN COLLABORATION WITH ATHENE. THE PLACE BECAME ONE OF THE AREA'S MOST HALLOWED SITES. 

THERE, GIRLS BETWEEN THE AGES OF FIVE & 10, ALL EXCLUSIVELY DAUGHTERS OF ATHENIAN CITIZENS, WERE BROUGHT TOGETHER EACH SUMMER FOR A COMMON BONDING EXPERIENCE.

AT BRAURON THEY EACH BECAME SO-CALLED LITTLE BEARS, OR ARKTOI. ALL WORE YELLOW OR SAFFRON TUNICS & BEAR MASKS. 

ARTEMIS WAS ADDRESSED BY THE GIRLS AS THE-GREAT-SHE-BEAR.

A FESTIVAL WAS HELD THERE EVERY FOUR YEARS. ONE ENCYCLOPEDIA STATES, 

"The Arkteia festival was celebrated every four years & involved a procession from the shrine of Artemis Brauronia ... At the isolated sanctuary ... young Athenian girls approaching marriageable age formed groups consecrated ... to Artemis.They spent their time in sacred dances, wearing honey-colored robes, running races & making sacrifice. 

"Vase paintings show that nudity was an element in these preparations for womanhood. " 

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA CONCLUDES,

"An epigram in the Anthologia Graeca concerns the offerings of childish playthings which a girl dedicates to Artemis on the eve of marriage. Many such tokens have been recovered from the spring at Brauron where there may have been joint worship of Iphigenia ..."

— 

JOAN CONNELLY, AN ARCHEOLOGIST AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, NOTES THAT AT THE END OF THE CELEBRATIONS, THE OLDER GIRLS SHED THEIR TUNICS & RAN CARRYING TORCHES & BRANCHES.

CONNELLY WRITES, "THE GIRLS WERE PLACED UNDER THE CARE OF THE VIRGIN ARTEMIS, WHO SHEPHERDED THEM THROUGH THE DANGEROUS, TRANSITIONAL PERIOD BETWEEN CHILDHOOD & PUBERTY."

SO HERE AGAIN, WE SEE ARTEMIS AS THE PROTECTOR, EVEN THE MENTOR, OF YOUNG GIRLS. 

THE GREAT BEAR DANCES THE GIRLS WERE TAUGHT WERE SLOW & SOLEMN. WE CAN IMAGINE THE GIRLS TOTTERING HEAVILY STEP BY STEP AS THEY SWUNG THEIR ARMS IN IMITATION OF IMAGINARY BEARS.

AND GLORIOUSLY, AT BRAURON THEY ESCAPED THE WATCHFUL EYES OF THEIR MOTHERS & BRIEFLY DEFIED THE ENDLESS RULES OF THEIR UPPER CLASS FAMILIES.

WHILE UNDER ARTEMIS' TUTELAGE THEY RAN WILD ... INDISPUTABLY, IT WAS A WONDERFUL FEW MONTHS IN THEIR LIVES. 

AT BRAURON THEY WOULD, AT GRADUATION, SHED THEIR ROBES, THE SUN ON THEIR HAIR & SHOULDERS, & DANCE WITHOUT SHAME. 

YET THEIR STAY IN HER SANCTUARY CLEARLY MARKED THE TRANSITION FROM PARTHENOS, WHICH IN GREEK MEANS VIRGIN, TO GYNE, WHICH DENOTED A WOMAN.

INDEED, WITHIN A FEW YEARS, USUALLY BETWEEN THE AGES OF 12 & 14, ALMOST ALL ATHENIAN GIRLS WOULD MARRY & NEVER AGAIN BE ALLOWED THE FREEDOMS THEY EXPERIENCED AT BRAURONIA.

AS MARRIED ATHENIANS, THEY WOULD LIVE UNUSUALLY RESTRICTED LIVES, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE COMPARE THEIR LIVES TO THOSE OF TODAY’S WESTERN WOMEN.

FOR INSTANCE, AS MARRIED WOMEN THEY RARELY LEFT THEIR HOMES. THEY WERE EXPECTED TO REMAIN IN THE REAR OF THE RESIDENCES.

THERE THEY WOVE CLOTHING, BAKED BREAD & MAINTAINED THE HOUSEHOLD. THEY PLAYED NO PART IN PUBLIC LIFE. SOCIAL INTERACTIONS WERE HIGHLY RESTRICTED.

NO ONE ASKED THEIR OPINION ABOUT POLITICS OR BUSINESS. WHEN THEIR HUSBANDS ENTERTAINED FRIENDS, WIVES WERE NOT TO BE SEEN.

BY ANY MODERN MEASURE, THESE WOMEN LED CONFINED LIVES THAT VALUED SILENCE, CIRCUMSPECTION & MODESTY.

COMPARE THEIR MARRIED LIVES TO THEIR SUMMERS AT BRAURONIA. THERE, IN THE SANCTUARY TO ARTEMIS, THEY WERE CELEBRATED. 

THEY COULD SING, DANCE & FORM FRIENDSHIPS. THEY COULD GIGGLE & GOSSIP & LEARN CRAFTS. MODERN EXCAVATIONS HAVE FOUND EVIDENCE THAT THE GIRLS MADE SMALL FIGURINES OF BEARS AND HORSES THAT WERE DEDICATED TO ARTEMIS.

AT BRAURONIA THE GREAT ARTEMIS ENSURED THEIR SAFETY & ASSURED THE GIRLS OF THEIR UNIQUENESS AS ATHENIANS. INDEED, THEY WERE PRIVILEGED TO ATTEND THESE GATHERINGS.

RECEIVING AN INVITATION FROM A HIGH PRIESTESS OF ARTEMIS TO APPEAR & TO BE ARKTOI WAS A BIRTHRIGHT & HONOR THAT NONE OF THE FAMILIES OF THESE GIRLS COULD REFUSE.

— 

I SHOULD MENTION THAT THE GREAT GODDESS, ARTEMIS, UNLIKE THE GIRLS SHE PROTECTED, WAS HARDLY CAREFREE. 

AS TIME PASSED, HER RELATIONSHIP WITH MORTALS BECAME STRAINED. BEFORE THE TURN OF THE MILLENNIUM, HER BELOVED GREEKS WERE SUBSUMED BY THE CONQUERING ROMANS. 

THEN THE ROMANS IN THEIR USUAL ASSUMPTIVE WAY RENAMED HER DIANA, WHICH IN LATIN MEANT SKY, DAYLIGHT & ONE WHO WAS DIVINE. 

SHE RESENTED THEIR MEDDLING & GRADUALLY WITHDREW FROM ALL INTERACTIONS WITH HUMANS.

— 

BEFORE WE COMPLETE THIS EPISODE, I SHOULD MENTION APOLLO. HE WAS HER TWIN BROTHER & AN IMPORTANT MALE FIGURE IN HER LIFE. 

SHE WAS BORN FIRST, & LORE HAS IT THAT SHE THEN HELPED HER MOTHER LETO DELIVER THE BABY THAT ZEUS’  WIFE HERA REFUSED TO ALLOW TO BE BORN.

ARTEMIS' ASSOCIATION WITH APOLLO AGAIN STRESSES THE CONTRADICTIONS THAT SHE SEEMED TO CULTIVATE. 

WHY? APOLLO WAS KNOWN AS THE GOD OF HEALING, YET APOLLO'S UNERRING ARROWS WERE KNOWN TO BRING PLAGUE & DEATH. 

YES, THE MIGHTY GOD OF HEALING WAS KNOWN TO SPREAD DEADLY VIRUSES WHEN HE WISHED.

IS YOUR HEAD SPINNING? THE ANCIENT GREEKS SEEMED RECONCILED TO THESE PARADOXES, PERHAPS BECAUSE THEY READILY ACCEPTED THE REALITIES OF LIFE & DEATH.

THESE ... INCONGRUITIES ... STRIKE ME AS TERRIBLY MODERN. THEY SEEM THE STUFF OF FRENCH PHILOSOPHERS & VIENNESE PSYCHIATRISTS. 

REGARDLESS, WHAT ARISES IN ANY ANALYSIS OF ANCIENT GREEKS IS ONE THING: CONTRADICTION. 

AND AMONG THE OLYMPIC GODS, ARTEMIS & HER BROTHER — MORE THAN ANY OTHER DIVINITIES — PERSONIFIED THAT BEWILDERING QUALITY.

— 

THERE'S MORE TO ARTEMIS ...

SHE WAS SOMETIMES CALLED THE MOON-GODDESS. WHEN SHE BENT HER BOW TO SHOOT, THE ARC OF THE BOW WAS SAID TO BE THE SLIVER OF THE NEW MOON.

YET WHEN I FOLLOW HER TALES & IMAGINE HER STRIDING THROUGH THE WILD GLADES OF GREECE, I SEE AS MUCH DARKNESS AS LIGHT. 

HERE'S ANOTHER PASSAGE FROM MY BOOK, THE WINNOWING.

JACK, THE PROTAGONIST, SEES THE GODDESS BEHIND HIS HOUSE. ARTEMIS & A DOZEN NYMPHS HAVE JUST SHOT CERBERUS, A GIANT THREE-HEADED DOG.

IN AMAZEMENT, JACKS SAYS,

"In the center of the meadow lay an enormous three-headed dog, thrashing, arrows jutting from its sides. 

"Each head was open-mouthed, tongues lolling, teeth caught in a sustained howl, each head writhing erratically. Its sides were bloodied, its eyes outraged.

"On the edge of the meadow, only ten feet from the dog, stood Artemis—white tunic, golden bow in hand, severe eyes. Her beauty mocked the beast’s hideousness.

"A dozen young girls stood beside her, all dressed similarly. I guessed they were twelve to fifteen. Their expressions were inscrutable ..."

— 

RETURNING TO OUR EPISODE ... YOU CAN IMAGINE JACK'S SHOCK AT COMING ACROSS THIS SCENE IN HIS BACKYARD.

YES, WE REMEMBER ARTEMIS AS THE GODDESS OF THE SILVER BOW, SHE OF THE NEW MOON, BRIGHT ARROWS & BRIGHT SWORD ... 

BUT SHE WAS ALSO THE TERRIBLE VIRGIN ASSAULTER OF STAGS, WHO SIMULTANEOUSLY WATCHED LIKE A SHARP-EYED HAWK OVER GIRLS ... 

SHE WAS WITH WOMEN AT CHILDBIRTH, & BESIDE THEM AT DEATH AS THEY PASSED FROM THIS WORLD TO THE NEXT.

SHE WAS THE GODDESS OF INCONGRUITY, SOMEHOW BEING BOTH THE GREAT DESTROYER & THE CARING GODDESS … 

— 

JOIN ME ... FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. REMEMBER THAT THE WINNOWING & MY OTHER NOVELS ARE ALL AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.

AND ONE MORE THING, IF YOU HAVE LITTLE ONES IN YOUR LIFE, THERE'S A NEW CHILDREN'S BOOK THAT SHOULD BE ON YOUR BOOKSHELF.

IT'S CALLED READ-ALOUD STORIES FOR YOUNG LISTENERS, BY D.K. GARNER. THERE ARE NO GREEK GODS, BUT ANIMALS — ALWAYS PART OF GREEK LIFE — PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THESE CHARMING STORIES. 

JUST LIKE THE GREEK GODS, THEIR PRESENCE CHANGES EVENTS.

VISIT PATRICK GARNER BOOKS DOT COM FOR MORE INFORMATION.

AND THANKS FOR LISTENING! ... THIS IS YOUR HOST, PATRICK ... GARNER.