Roman Goddess Diana Greek Equivalent: Artemis Symbolism Diana is often depicted as a beautiful, young, Goddess clad in a short tunic and hunting boots carrying a bow and set of arrows. She is accompanied by a deer or hunting dogs. There are several artworks where this Goddess is illustrated with a crescent moon on her forehead. Sacred Animal: Deer, bears and hunting dogs. Sacred Plants: Apple, balm, beech, jasmine, mugwort, oak trees, vervain, and wormwood. Festivals: Her festival was celebrated on August 13th Temple: In Rome her main place of worship was the Aventine Temple. There was also a sacred grove of trees on the banks of Lake Nemi. To learn more about this Grove and it's bloody past click on the link to go to an excellent article by Ludovico Pisani. Diana's Archetype's The Child of Nature This stereotype feels most at home outside bonding and communicating with the forces of nature. The child of nature is often emotionally very sensitive and prefers solace and the company of animals to being with people. They are often independent and physically fit. The shadow aspect abuses animals and destroys the environment around them.

Diana embodies this role as she is the goddess of wild animals. As the huntress she becomes the shadow attribute of this stereotype, killing the animals and attacking anyone who tries to take away her dignity. The Virgin This archetype represents the desire to remain sexually pure and uncorrupt, maintaining your energy for other projects. It can also symbolise a deep desire to create brand new ideas and methods of working. The shadow virgin, resists her sexuality due to fear and revolution of sex and the loss of innocence it symbolizes. Diana the Roman Goddess like her Greek counterpart protects and cherishes her chastity. How to work With These Archetypes The Child of Nature: To have this particular archetype you need more than a love of nature. Your health and well-being is affected if you are unable to spend time outside working with animals, plants and other nature spirits. Your idea of hell is likely to be working in a busy office in the centre of town. People who possess the shadow aspect are cruel to animals and have no interest in preserving the natural world. The Virgin: This Virgin is one of your main archetypes, if you are continually preserving your vital energies, for spiritual pursuits.

The virgin may also represent a desire to explore virgin territory; inventing refreshing, new ideas and ways of doing things. Call upon this Goddess if you need assistance with this. On the shadow side, fear and disgust caused by bad past experiences could be preventing you from exploring your sexuality. The Goddess Diana | General Spirituality JM Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Dianic Wicca, also known as Dianic Witchcraft and Dianic Feminist Witchcraft,[1] is a tradition, or denomination, of the neopagan religion of Wicca. It was founded by Zsuzsanna Budapest in the United States in the 1970s, and is notable for its focus on the worship of the Goddess, and on feminism. It combines elements of British Traditional Wicca, Italian folk-magic recorded in Charles Leland's Aradia, feminist values, and ritual, folk magic, and healing practices learned from her mother. It is normally practiced in female-only covens.[1] Beliefs and practices Most Dianic Wiccans worship the Goddess only, acknowledging that She is the source of all living and contains all within Her.

There are Dianic witches who practice other forms of paganism (possibly including honoring a male deity or deities) outside of their Dianic practice. Some Dianics are monotheistic, some are polytheistic, some are non-theistic. Most Dianics worship in female-only circles and covens, but there are mixed-gender Dianic traditions. Eclecticism, appreciation of cultural diversity, ecological concern, and familiarity with sophisticated concepts of psyche and transformation are characteristic. Originally lesbians formed the majority of the movement, however modern Dianic groups may be all-lesbian, all-heterosexual or mixed.[2] Some Dianic Wiccans as "positive path" practitioners do neither manipulative spellwork nor hexing; other Dianic witches (notably Zsuzsanna Budapest) do not consider hexing or binding of those who attack women to be wrong. In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and also of the moon. In literature she was the equivalent of the Greek goddess Artemis, though in cult beliefs she was Italic, not Greek, in origin.

Diana was worshipped in ancient Roman religion and is currently revered in the religions of Religio Romana Neopaganism and Stregheria.Along with her main attributes, Diana was an emblem of chastity. Oak groves were especially sacred to her. According to mythology, Diana was born with her twin brother Apollo on the island of Delos, daughter of Jupiter and Latona. Diana made up a trinity with two other Roman deities: Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and Virbius, the woodland god. Etymology In her etymology, "Diana" is simply :"the Bright Goddess", with a Greek parallel in the name — though not the cult practice — of Dione at Dodona. She was goddess of fertility and quick to anger. In religion Diana's cult has been related in Early Modern Europe to the cult of Nicevenn (aka Dame Habond, Perchta, Herodiana, etc.). She was related to myths of a female Wild Hunt, close to the Benandantis' struggles against evil witches. Diana remains an important figure in some modern mythologies.

Those who believe that prehistoric peoples lived in matriarchal societies consider Diana to have originated in a mother goddess worshiped at that time. Wicca Today there is a branch of Wicca named for her, which is characterized by an exclusive focus on the feminine aspect of the Divine. Stregheria In Italy the old religion of Stregheria embraced goddess Diana as Queen of the Witches; witches being the wise women healers of the time. Goddess Diana created the world of her own being having in herself the seeds of all creation yet to come. It is said that out of herself she divided into the darkness and the light, keeping for herself the darkness of creation and creating her brother Apollo, the light. Goddess Diana loved and ruled with her brother Apollo, the god of the Sun. There is A LOT more information!!! The Roman Goddess Diana [ ? ]Subscribe To This Site The Roman Goddess Diana The Roman goddess Diana was the equivalent of the Greek goddess Artemis . She was the daughter of Jupiter and Latona and Apollo ’s sister. Initially, in Roman mythology, she was a goddess of nature.

She was later identified with the Greek goddess Artemis , under the influence of the Greek colonies established in Southern Italy, that’s how she also became the goddess of hunt. She was considered a protector of the weak and the slaves turned to her for help. The most important temples of the Roman goddess Diana were in Capua and in Aricia, near Lake Nemi, where she was also called Diana Nemorensis (Diana of the woods). There was a festival held in her honour on the 13th August (the Ides of August). The priest in the Temple of Diana Nemorensis was said to be, in the beginning, a runaway slave. If somebody else wanted to take his place, he had to kill the priest with a wooden branch. One of the stories says that Artemis (i.e Diana) took Hippolytus, son of Theseus, after he was brought to life again by Asclepios, and brought it to Italy, at her temple in Aricia, where he became her priest, under the name Virbius (he who lived twice). And a curious fact: in the Romanian language, the Latin name of the Roman goddess Diana became the word “zana”, which means “fairy”.

In Romanian folk tales, the fairies are women with magical powers (some good, some bad) who would usually wander through the woods, in large groups. In many tales, a young man sees the fairies bathing and steals some clothes. When they discover someone is watching, they get out of the water, get dressed and fly away. The fairy whose clothes were stolen can’t go away, so she hides behind a bush, promising to marry him if he gives her back her clothes (which have magical powers). The young man refuses and gives her other clothes, they marry and they live happily for a while, until, one day, she manages to find her fairy clothes. When she does, she can fly back to her sisters, leaving her son and her husband, who will be forever sad. Because, when someone was married to a fairy, the other women mean nothing to him any more. Not exactly Actaeon's story, but anyway, the man who saw the fairies naked is punished for this, with an eternal sadness. In art, this goddess was mainly represented under the name Diana.

Diana - Goddess Of The Hunt - The Goddess - The White Goddess Diana, Roman Goddess of the Hunt, her Greek counterpart is Artemis, from whom she acquires some of her aspects. Diana - Goddess Of The Hunt - The Goddess - The White Goddess Home ï¿½ The Goddess ï¿½ Diana - Goddess Of The Hunt Diana - Goddess Of The Hunt Diana - Goddess Of The Hunt. Diana - Diana Nemorensis - Diana Of The Wood (The Celtic words dianna and diona, mean 'divine' and 'brilliant' respectively.) Diana, Roman Goddess of the Hunt, her Greek counterpart is Artemis, from whom she acquires some of her aspects. On the northern shores of Lake Nemi, Diana's Mirror, in Italy, stood the sacred grove and sanctuary of the Goddess Diana. The Goddess Diana, is the Huntress and Goddess or fertility, childbirth and the wild woodlands and associated with the constellation of Ursa Major. She is also associated with fire festivals, her title Vesta, indicates a perpetual holy fire in her sanctuary.

Her annual festival, held on August 13th, where she is invoked to protect the harvest from autumn storms, is the middle of summer, when the sun is at its hottest. Diana is often depicted holding a torch, a symbolic reminder of the fiery nature of the Goddess. Several other deities are associated with Diana at Lake Nemi, Egeria, the Nymph of the Lake and Virbius, who, legend states, was the Greek hero Hippolytus. Diana also had in attendance, The Sacrificial King or King of the Sacred Rites. He was required to pluck a branch of a certain tree, often identified as Virgil's 'Golden Bough', and slay his predecessor before taking up his office. Whereupon he becomes the High Priest/Husband/Lover of the Goddess. He holds this office until he himself is slain by a more craftier or stronger challenger, a remainder of the Birth, Death, Rebirth cycle of nature.

Prayer To Diana Artemis | Greek Mythology Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Weapons Silver Bow and Arrows Artemis (Ancient Greek: Ἄρτεμις) was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name, and indeed the goddess herself, was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals". The Arcadians believed she was the daughter of Demeter . In the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto , and the twin sister of Apollo . She was the Hellenic goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and protector of young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women; she often depicted as a huntress carrying a Bow & Arrows . The deer, wolves , and the cypress were sacred to her. In later Hellenistic times she also assumed the ancient role of Eileithyia in aiding childbirth.

Ancient Greek writers linked Artemis (Doric Artamis) by way of folk etymology to artemes (ἀρτεμής) "safe" or artamos (ἄρταμος) "butcher". However, the name Artemis (variants Arktemis, Arktemisa) is most likely related to Greek árktos "bear" (from PIE *h₂ŕ̥tḱos), supported by the bear cult that the goddess had in Attica (Brauronia) and the Neolithic remains at the Arkoudiotissa Cave, as well as the story about Callisto, which was originally about Artemis (Arcadian epithet kallisto). This cult was a survival of very old totemic and shamanistic rituals and formed part of a larger bear cult found further afield in other Indo-European cultures (e.g., Gaulish Artio). It is believed that a precursor of Artemis was worshiped in Minoan Crete as the goddess of mountains and hunting, Britomartis.

While connection with Anatolian names has been suggested, the earliest attested forms of the name Artemis are the Mycenaean Greek a-te-mi-to and a-ti-mi-te, written in Linear B at Pylos. Artemis was venerated in Lydia as Artimus. Contents [ show ] Birth Various conflicting accounts are given in Classical Greek mythology of the birth of Artemis and her twin brother, Apollo. All accounts agree, however, that she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and that she was the twin sister of Apollo . An account by Callimachus has it that Hera forbade Leto to give birth on either terra firma (the mainland) or on an island. Hera was angry with Zeus , her husband, because he had impregnated Leto. But the island of Delos (or Ortygia in the Homeric Hymn to Artemis) disobeyed Hera, and Leto gave birth there. Once, Artemis was tricked into having a child. Artemis had offended Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. She told Athena and Hera that they were not true virgin goddess. After all, Athena had children, and Hera was the goddess of marriage.

She then told Aphrodite that love was worthless, since you would most likely have a broken heart in the end. She showed the example of Orpheus and Eurydice. They still had broken hearts. Of course, these goddess did not take offense easily. They plotted to get revenge. With the help of Dionysus, they made every young man look like a golden stag. But really, they were the men of Athens. Soon she was in childbirth, which was very painful. Hera (who was also the goddess of childbirth), made sure that the birth would not come easily for Artemis. People are not sure who her daughter was. Some say it is Haley's comet. Others say that she is the shadows of night. Most most people believe that it was moon that was her daughter, always shining down upon us. In ancient Cretan history Leto was worshiped at Phaistos and in Cretan mythology Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis at the islands known today as the Paximadia. A scholium of Servius on Aeneid iii.

72 accounts for the island's archaic name Ortygia by asserting that Zeus transformed Leto into a quail (ortux) in order to prevent Hera from finding out his infidelity, and Kenneth McLeish suggested further that in quail form Leto would have given birth with as few birth-pains as a mother quail suffers when it lays an egg. The myths also differ as to whether Artemis was born first, or Apollo. Most stories depict Artemis as born first, becoming her mother's mid-wife upon the birth of her brother Apollo. Artemis caused no pain to Leto, earning her the title of goddess of childbirth. After she was born she helped Leto give birth to Apollo her twin brother. Childhood The childhood of Artemis is not fully related in any surviving myth. The Iliad reduced the figure of the dread goddess to that of a girl, who, having been thrashed by Hera , climbs weeping into the lap of Zeus.

A poem of Callimachus to the goddess "who amuses herself on mountains with archery" imagines some charming vignettes: according to Callimachus, Artemis, at three years old, while sitting on the knee of her father, Zeus , asked him to grant her six wishes: to remain always a virgin; to have many names to set her apart from her brother Apollo ; to be the Phaesporia or Light Bringer; to have a bow and arrow and a knee-length tunic so that she could hunt; to have sixty "daughters of Okeanos", all nine years of age, to be her choir; and for twenty Amnisides Nymphs as handmaidens to watch her dogs and bow while she rested. She wished for no city dedicated to her, but to rule the mountains, and for the ability to help women in the pains of childbirth. Artemis believed that she had been chosen by the Fates to be a midwife, particularly since she had assisted her mother in the delivery of her twin brother, Apollo. All of her companions remained virgins, and Artemis closely guarded her own chastity.

Her symbols included the silver bow and arrow, the hunting dog, the stag, and the moon. Callimachus tells how Artemis spent her girlhood seeking out the things that she would need to be a huntress, how she obtained her bow and arrows from the isle of Lipara, where Hephaestus and the Cyclops worked. Okeanus' daughters were filled with fear, but the young Artemis bravely approached and asked for bow and arrows. Callimachus then tells how Artemis visited Pan , the god of the forest, whom gave her seven female dogs and six dogs. She then captured six golden-horned deer to pull her chariot. Artemis practiced with her bow first by shooting at trees and then at wild beasts. Possible Relations & Others As a virgin, Artemis had interested many gods and men. Artemis was friends with the giant Orion, but long after Orion's death humans thought that they could have been something more. This was unlikely true because the first stories of their friendship were things like Orion being a rapist and attempting to take advantage of their friendship and rape Artemis, which in turn led to her killing him.

Others were things like Orion attempting to kill every beast in the world to win her heart, in order to stop him either Artemis killed him without regret (she thought he was crazy and that she would never fall in love no matter what, or Gaia sending Scorpio to kill him. Either way unlike popular belief there was plenty of evidence that they had nothing other than a mere friendship (despite Orion wanting more but he may or may not have acted on it and tried to rape her). In the unlikely case of Artemis being in love with Orion it would have likely ended with with Apollo wanting to make sure Artemis kept her vow and he either sent Scorpio to kill him or tricked Artemis into shooting Orion. Orion was the self-proclaimed best hunter in another version and Hera sent Scorpio to kill him, in this version Zeus put him in the stars as a constellation as an apology to Orion for what his wife did. It was most likely in most case that Zeus was the one who put him in the sky and only the ones where Artemis was in love with him would Artemis have put her in the sky. The whole idea of Artemis loving Orion was started way after the first stories of any possible friendship between the two.

Alpheus , a river god, was in love with Artemis, but he realizes that he can do nothing to win her heart. So he decides to capture her. Artemis, who is with her companions at Letrenoi, goes to Alpheus, but, suspicious of his motives, she covers her face with mud so that the river god does not recognize her. In another story, Alphaeus tries to rape Artemis' attendant Arethusa . Artemis pities Arethusa and saves her by transforming Arethusa into a spring in Artemis' temple, Artemis Alphaea in Letrini, where the goddess and her attendant drink. Bouphagos, the son of the Titan Iapetos, sees Artemis and thinks about raping her. Reading his sinful thoughts, Artemis strikes him at Mount Pholoe. Sipriotes is a boy, who, either because he accidentally sees Artemis bathing or because he attempts to rape her, is turned into a girl by the goddess. Aktaeon Multiple versions Actaeon myth survive, though many are fragmentary.

The details vary but at the core they involve a great hunter, Aktaeon who Artemis turns into a stag for a transgression and who is then killed by hunting dogs. Usually the dogs are his own, whom no longer recognize their master. Sometimes they are Artemis' hounds. According to the standard modern text on the work, Lamar Ronald Lacey's The Myth of Aktaion: Literary and Icongraphic Studies, the most likely original version of the myth is that Aktaeon was the hunting companion of the goddess who, seeing her stark naked in her sacred spring, attempts to force himself on her. For this hubris he is turned into a stag and devoured by his own hounds. However, in some surviving versions Aktaeon is a stranger who happens upon her. Different tellings also diverge in the hunter's transgression, which is sometimes merely seeing the virgin goddess naked, sometimes boasting he is a better hunter than she, or even merely being a rival of Zeus for the affections of Semele .

Adonis In some versions of the story of Adonis , who was a late addition to Greek mythology during the Hellenistic period, Artemis sent a wild boar to kill Adonis as punishment for his hubristic boast that he was a better hunter than she. In other versions, Artemis killed Adonis for revenge. In later myths, Adonis had been related as a favorite of Aphrodite , and Aphrodite was responsible for the death of Hippolytus , who had been a favorite of Artemis. Therefore, Artemis killed Adonis to avenge Hippolytus's death. In yet another version, Adonis was not killed by Artemis, but by Ares , as punishment out of jealousy. Orion Orion was Artemis' hunting companion. In some versions, he is killed by Artemis, while in others he is killed by a scorpion sent by Gaia . In some versions, Orion tries to seduce Opis , one of her followers, and she killed him. In a version by Aratus , Orion took hold of Artemis's robe and she killed him in self-defense. In yet another version, Apollo sends the scorpion.

According to Hyginus , Artemis once loved Orion (in spite of the late source, this version appears to be a rare remnant of her as the pre-Olympian goddess, who took consorts, as Eos did), but was tricked into killing him by her brother Apollo, who was "protective" of his sister's maidenhood. Artemis was friends with the giant Orion, but long after Orion's death humans thought that they could have been something more. This was unlikely true because the first stories of their friendship were things like Orion being a rapist and attempting to take advantage of their friendship and rape Artemis, which in turn led to her killing him. Others were things like Orion attempting to kill every beast in the world to win her heart, in order to stop him either Artemis killed him without regret (she thought he was crazy and that she would never fall in love no matter what, or Gaia sending Scorpio to kill him. Either way unlike popular belief there was plenty of evidence that they had nothing other than a mere friendship (despite Orion wanting more but he may or may not have acted on it and tried to rape her).

In the unlikely case of Artemis being in love with Orion it would have likely ended with with Apollo wanting to make sure Artemis kept her vow and he either sent Scorpio to kill him or tricked Artemis into shooting Orion. Orion was the self-proclaimed best hunter in another version and Hera sent Scorpio to kill him, in this version Zeus put him in the stars as a constellation as an apology to Orion for what his wife did. It was most likely in most case that Zeus was the one who put him in the sky and only the ones where Artemis was in love with him would Artemis have put her in the sky. The whole idea of Artemis loving Orion was started way after the first stories of any possible friendship between the two The Aloadae These twin sons of Iphidemia and Poseidon , Otos and Ephialtes, grew enormously at a young age. They were aggressive, great hunters, and could not be killed unless they killed each other. The growth of the Aloadae never stopped, and they boasted that as soon as they could reach heaven, they would kidnap Artemis and Hera and take them as wives.

The gods were afraid of them, except for Artemis who captured a fine deer (or in another version of the story, she changed herself into a doe) and jumped out between them. The Aloadae threw their spears and so mistakenly killed each other. Callisto Callisto was the daughter of Lycaon, King of Arcadia and also was one of Artemis' hunting attendants. As a companion of Artemis, she took a vow of chastity. Zeus appeared to her disguised as Artemis, or in some stories Apollo , gained her confidence, then took advantage of her. As a result of this encounter she conceived a son, Arcas. Enraged, Hera or Artemis (some accounts say both) changed her into a bear. Arcas almost killed the bear, but Zeus stopped him just in time. Out of pity, Zeus placed Callisto the bear into the heavens, thus the origin of Callisto the Bear as a constellation. Some stories say that he placed both Arcas and Callisto into the heavens as bears, forming the Ursa Minor and Ursa Major constellations.

Iphigenia and the Taurian Artemis Artemis punished Agamemnon after he killed a sacred stag in a sacred grove and boasted that he was a better hunter than the goddess. When the Greek fleet was preparing at Aulis to depart for Troy to begin the Trojan War , Artemis becalmed the winds. The seer Calchas advised Agamemnon that the only way to appease Artemis was to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia . Artemis then snatched Iphigenia from the altar and substituted a deer. Various myths have been told around what happened after Artemis took her. Either she was brought to Tauros and led the priests there, or became Artemis' immortal companion. Niobe A Queen of Thebes and wife of Amphion , Niobe boasted of her superiority to Leto because while she had fourteen children (Niobids), seven boys and seven girls, Leto had only one of each. When Artemis and Apollo heard this impiety, Apollo killed her sons as they practiced athletics, and Artemis shot her daughters, whom died instantly without a sound.

Apollo and Artemis used poisoned arrows to kill them, though according to some versions two of the Niobids were spared, one boy and one girl. Amphion, at the sight of his dead sons, killed himself. A devastated Niobe and her remaining children were turned to stone by Artemis as they wept. The gods themselves entombed them. Niobe and Amphion boasted they were better than Leto, becuase they had raised fourteen children and Leto had only raised two. Artemis and Apollo, very angered that the two dared to compare their mortal lives to that of a goddess, killed their children. Apollo killed all the male children and Artemis killed all the female children, each with their bow and arrows. Amphion committed suicide and Niobe wept until she was turned into a rock. This myths is said to be the explanation of why rocks "cry". Khione Khione was a princess of Pokis. She was beloved by two gods, Hermes and Apollo, and boasted that she was prettier than Artemis because she made two gods fall in love with her at once. Artemis was furious and killed Khione with her arrow or struck her dumb by shooting off her tongue.

However, some versions of this myth say Apollo and Hermes protected her from Artemis' wrath. Atalanta, Oeneus and the Meleagrids Artemis saved the infant Atalanta from dying of exposure after her father abandoned her. She sent a female bear to suckle the baby, whom was then raised by hunters. But she later sent a bear to hurt Atalanta because people said Atalanta was a better hunter. This is in some stories. Among other adventures, Atalanta participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar, which Artemis had sent to destroy Kalydon because King Oeneus had forgotten her at the harvest sacrifices. In the hunt, Atalanta drew the first blood, and was awarded the prize of the skin. She hung it in a sacred grove at Tegea as a dedication to Artemis. Meleager was a hero of Aetolia. King Oeneus had him gather heroes from all over Greece to hunt the Calydonian Boar. After the death of Meleager, Artemis turned his grieving sisters, the Meleagrids into guineafowl that Artemis loved very much.

Aura In Nonnus Dionysiaca, Aura was Greek goddess of breezes and cool air, daughter of Lelantos and Periboia . She was a virgin huntress, just like Artemis and proud of her maidenhood. One day, she claimed that the body of Artemis was too womanly and she doubted her virginity. Artemis asked Nemesis for help to avenge her dignity and caused the rape of Aura by Dionysos . Aura became a mad and dangerous killer. When she bore twin sons, she ate one of them while the other one, Iakhos, was saved by Artemis. Iakhos later became an attendant of Demeter and the leader of Eleusinian Mysteries. Trojan War Artemis may have been represented as a supporter of Troy because her brother Apollo was the patron god of the city and she herself was widely worshiped in western Anatolia in historical times. In the Iliad she came to blows with Hera , when the divine allies of the Greeks and Trojans engaged each other in conflict. Hera struck Artemis on the ears with her own quiver, causing the arrows to fall out.

As Artemis fled crying to Zeus , Leto gathered up the bow and arrows. Artemis played quite a large part in this war. Like her mother and brother, whom was widely worshiped at Troy, Artemis took the side of the Trojans. At the Greek's journey to Troy, Artemis becalmed the sea and stopped the journey until an oracle came and said they could win the goddess' heart by sacrificing Iphigenia , Agamemnon's daughter. Agamemnon once promised the goddess he would sacrifice the dearest thing to him, which was Iphigenia, but broke the promise. Other sources said he boasted about his hunting ability and provoked the goddess' anger. Artemis saved Iphigenia because of her bravery. In some versions of the myth, Artemis made Iphigenia her attendant or turned her into Hekate , goddess of night, witchcraft, and the underworld. Aeneas was helped by Artemis, Leto, and Apollo. Apollo found him wounded by Diomedes and lifted him to heaven. There, the three of them secretly healed him in a great chamber.

Artemis in Art The oldest representations of Artemis in Greek Archaic art portray her as Potnia Theron ("Queen of the Beasts"): a winged goddess holding a stag and leopard in her hands, or sometimes a leopard and a lion. This winged Artemis lingered in ex-votos as Artemis Orthia , with a sanctuary close by Sparta . In Greek classical art she is usually portrayed as a maiden huntress, young, tall and slim, clothed in a girl's short skirt with hunting boots, a quiver, a bow and arrows. Often, she is shown in the shooting pose, and is accompanied by a hunting dog or stag. When portrayed as a goddess of the moon, Artemis wore a long robe and sometimes a veil covered her head. Her darker side is revealed in some vase paintings, where she is shown as the death-bringing goddess whose arrows fell young maidens and women, such as the daughters of Niobe . Only in post-Classical art do we find representations of Artemis-Diana with the crown of the crescent moon, as Luna . In the ancient world, although she was occasionally associated with the moon, she was never portrayed as the moon itself.

Ancient statues of Artemis have been found with crescent moons, but these moons are always Renaissance-era additions. On June 7, 2007, a Roman era bronze sculpture of Artemis and the Stag was sold at Sotheby's auction house in New York state by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery for $25.5 million. Attributes Bow and Arrow: According to the Homeric Hymn to Artemis, she had golden bow and arrows, as her epithet was Khryselakatos, "of the Golden Shaft", and Iokheira (Showered by Arrows). The arrows of Artemis could also to bring sudden death and disease to girls and women. Artemis got her bow and arrow for the first time from The Kyklopes, as the one she asked from her father. The bow of Artemis also became the witness of Callisto's oath of her virginity. In later cult, the bow became the symbol of waxing moon. Chariots: Artemis' chariot was made of gold and was pulled by four golden horned deer (Elaphoi Khrysokeroi). The bridles of her chariot were also made of gold.

Spears, Nets and Lyres: Although quite seldom, Artemis is sometimes portrayed with a hunting spear. Her cult in Aetolia, the Artemis Aetolian, showed her with a hunting spear. The description about Artemis' spear can be found in Ovid's Metamorphosis, while Artemis with a fishing spear connected with her cult as a patron goddess of fishing. As a goddess of maiden dances and songs, Artemis is often portrayed with a lyre. Fauna Deer Deer were the only animals held sacred to Artemis herself. On seeing a deer larger than a bull with horns shining, she fell in love with these creatures and held them sacred. Deer were also the first animals she captured. She caught five golden horned deer called Elaphoi Khrysokeroi and harnessed them to her chariot. The third labour of Heracles , commanded by Eurystheus , consisted in catching the Kerynitis Hind alive. Heracles begged Artemis for forgiveness and promised to return it alive. Artemis forgave him but targeted Eurystheus for her wrath. Hunting Dog Artemis got her hunting dogs from Pan in the forest of Arcadia.

Pan gave Artemis two black-and-white dogs, three reddish ones, and one spotted one - these dogs were able to hunt even lions. Pan also gave Artemis seven bitches of the finest Arcadian race. However, Artemis only ever brought seven dogs hunting with her at any one time. Bear The sacrifice of a bear for Artemis started with the Brauron cult. Every year a girl between five and ten years of age was sent to Artemis' temple at Brauron. The Byzantine writer Suidos relayed the legend in Arktos e Brauroniois. A bear was tamed by Artemis and introduced to the people of Athens. They touched it and played with it until one day a group of girls poked the bear until it attacked them. A brother of one of the girls killed the bear, so Artemis sent a plague in revenge. The Athenians consulted an oracle to understand how to end the plague. The oracle suggested that, in payment for the bear's blood, no Athenian virgin should be allowed to marry until she had served Artemis in her temple ('played the bear for the goddess'). Boar The boar is one of the favorite animals of the hunters, and also hard to tame.

In honor of Artemis' skill, they sacrificed it to her. Oineus and Adonis were both killed by Artemis' boar. Guinea Fowl Artemis felt pity for the Meleagrids as they mourned for their lost brother, Meleagor, so she transformed them into Guinea Fowl to be her favorite animals. Citation needed Buzzard Hawk Hawks were the favored birds of many of the gods, Artemis included. Citation needed Flora Palm Tree and Cypress Tree trees were connected with the story of their birth to be her birthplace. Other plants sacred to Artemis are Amaranth and Asphodel . Artemis as The Lady of Ephesus Main Article: Temple of Artemis At Ephesus in Ionia, Turkey, her temple became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was probably the best known center of her worship except for Delos. There the Lady whom the Ionians associated with Artemis through interpretatio graeca was worshiped primarily as a mother goddess, akin to the Phrygian goddess Cybele, in an ancient sanctuary where her cult image depicted the "Lady of Ephesus" adorned with multiple rounded breast like protuberances on her chest.

They have been variously interpreted as multiple accessory breasts, as eggs, grapes, acorns, or even bull testes. Excavation at the site of the Artemision in 1987-88 identified a multitude of tear-shaped amber beads that had adorned the ancient wooden xoanon. In Acts of the Apostles, Ephesian metalsmiths who felt threatened by Saint Paul's preaching of Christianity, jealously rioted in her defense, shouting "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" Of the 121 columns of her temple, only one composite, made up of fragments, still stands as a marker of the temple's location. The rest were used for making churches, roads, and forts. Artemis in Astronomy A minor planet, (105) Artemis ; a lunar crater; the Artemis Chasma and the Artemis Corona have all been named for her.

Artemis is the acronym for "Architectures de bolometres pour des Telescopes a grand champ de vue dans le domaine sub-Millimetrique au Sol," a large bolometer camera in the submillimeter range that was installed in 2010 at the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Animals and other things sacred to Artemis The Goose Sacred to Artemis The Guinea-Fowl is sacred to Artemis The Wolf is sacred to Artemis as well as Zeus Diana, Roman Goddess of the Hunt Diana, Roman Goddess of the Hunt Roman Deities Diana, Roman Goddess of the Hunt Statue of Diana, Gallery of Statues, Ducal palace, Lucca, Tuscany. Image by A. Pistolesi/De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Images By Patti Wigington Updated August 31, 2016. Many Pagans honor the goddess Diana (pronounced di-ANN-ah) in her various aspects. Particularly in feminist and NeoWiccan traditions, Diana holds a place in the heart of a number of modern magical practitioners.

Her name is believed to come from an early Indo-European word, dyew or deyew, meaning “sky” or “heaven.” This same root word later gave us variants such as the Latin deus, meaning “god,” and dies, which meant “daylight.” Origins & History Much like the Greek Artemis , Diana began as a deity of the hunt who later evolved into a lunar goddess . Honored by the ancient Romans, Diana was known as an accomplished huntress, and stood as a guardian of the forest and of the animals who resided within. Despite her virginal status, Diana later became known as a protector of women in childbirth, and other vulnerable people. A daughter of Jupiter, Diana was the twin sister of Apollo . Although there is significant overlap between Artemis and Diana, in Italy itself, Diana evolved into a separate and distinct persona. In Charles Leland's Aradia, Gospel of the Witches, he pays homage to Diana Lucifera (Diana of the light) in her aspect as a light-bearing goddess of the moon, and details the birth of her daughter, Aradia.

Obviously, there is some discrepancy between Leland’s interpretations of Diana as mother, versus the traditional Roman mythology that names her as a virgin. Many feminist Wiccan groups, including the aptly named Dianic Wiccan tradition , honor Diana in her role as the embodiment of the sacred feminine. Appearance She is often associated with the powers of the moon, and in some classical artwork is portrayed wearing a crown that features a crescent moon. She is typically presented carrying a bow, as a symbol of her hunt, and wearing a short tunic. It is not uncommon to see her as a beautiful young woman surrounded by wild animals such as the stag. In her role as Diana Venatrix, goddess of the chase, she is seen running, bow drawn, with her hair streaming behind her as she takes pursuit. Mythology Don't let Diana's lovely appearance fool you into thinking she's all kindness and beauty. In one myth about Diana, the goddess is out hunting in the woods and takes a break so she can bathe in a stream. While doing so, she is observed by a young man, Actaeon, who has wandered away from his own hunting party.

Foolishly, Actaeon reveals himself , and confesses that Diana is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. For whatever reason - and scholars tend to vary on this - Diana turns Actaeon into a stag , and he’s promptly chased and torn to bits by his own hounds. Worship & Celebration Diana’s worshipers honored her in a beautiful temple on the Aventine hill in Rome , and she was celebrated at a special festival, called the Nemoralia, each year around August 13. Offerings were made in the form of small, carved tablets, statuary, and intricately woven fabric tied along a fence in a sacred valley. The Nemoralia festival, which typically fell around the time of August’s full moon , takes its name from the place at which it was held. Lake Nemi was a sacred lake in a valley, surrounded by dense forests. Adherents of Diana would arrive at the lake at dusk, carrying torches in a processional. The reflected torchlight appeared in the surface of the water, along with the light from the evening’s full moon.

As part of the preparation for a visit to Lake Nemi, women went through an elaborate ritual that involved washing their hair and decorating it with wreaths of flowers. The day of the Nemoralia was a day sacred to women. Honoring Diana Today How can you honor Diana today, as a modern Pagan? There are a number of ways you can celebrate Diana in her many aspects. Try one or more of these as part of your magical practice: Are you a Pagan who is also a hunter ? Honor Diana before you set out, by making an offering to her of bread or fruit, or clay images. She seems to appreciate song as well – why not sing a song in her honor, asking for assistance with your hunt? If your hunt is successful, make sure you thank Diana afterwards. You can do this by singing her praises as you dress your kill. If you’re pregnant, and want her to watch over you in childbirth, create an altar to Diana . Include requests for protection on a small clay tablet tied with ribbon, or images of motherhood and children. Write prayers to Diana on ribbons or strips of fine cloth, and tie them to trees in the forest.

Celebrate Diana at the time of the full moon with an altar full of candles designated in her name, or by calling upon her in a Drawing Down the Moon ritual . 1000+ images about Goddess Diana on Pinterest | Diana, Artemis and The goddess Learn more at ab-antiquo.blogspot.com This coin dates somewhere between 310-290 BCE, and features the moon goddess Tanit, the highest of the goddesses worshiped in Carthage. She was the patron of life, fertility, and war, and is closely linked to Artemis of the Greeks, Diana of the Romans. Her symbol is very similar to the Egyptian Ankh. More The Goddess Diana – Witches Of The Craft® Research on the Goddess Diana Part 1 “Goddess Of The Hunt” Diana (lt. “heavenly” or “divine”) was the goddess of the hunt, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and also of the moon in Roman mythology. In literature she was the equal of the Greek goddess Artemis, though in cult beliefs she was Italic, not Greek, in origin. Diana was worshiped in ancient Roman religion and is currently revered in Roman Neopaganism and Stregheria.

Dianic Wicca, a largely feminist form of the practice, is named for her. Diana was known to be the virgin goddess and looked after virgins and women. She was one of the three maiden goddesses, Diana, Minerva and Vesta, who swore never to marry. Along with her main attributes, Diana was an emblem of chastity. Oak groves were especially sacred to her. According to mythology, Diana was born with her twin brother Apollo on the island of Delos, daughter of Jupiter and Latona. Diana made up a triad with two other Roman deities: Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and Virbius, the woodland god. Diana (pronounced with long ‘i’ and a’) is an adjectival form developed from an ancient *divios, corresponding to later ‘divus’, ‘dius’, as in Dius Fidius, Dea Dia and in the neuter form dium meaning the sky. It is rooted in Indoeuropean *d(e)y(e)w meaning bright sky or daylight, from which also derived the name of Vedic god Dyaus and the Latin deus (god), dies (day, daylight).

The Greek αδει(αν)ός (adei(an)os) means empty, because Aeneas’s mother, Venus, in the form of a hunting woman was very similar to the goddess Diana and because the Aeneid describes that since Paris (mythology) the temples hallow an empty name and she went down the empty sky when Eurytion held the arrow ready on his bended bow. Theology The persona of Diana is complex and contains a number of archaic features. According to Dumezil it falls into a particular subset of celestial gods, referred to in histories of religion as ‘frame gods’. Such gods, while keeping the original features of celestial divinities, i.e. transcendent heavenly power and abstention from direct rule in worldly matters, did not share the fate of other celestial gods in Indoeuropean religions – that of becoming dei otiosi, since they did retain a particular sort of influence over the world and mankind. The celestial character of Diana is reflected in her connexion with light, inaccessibility, virginity, and her preference for dwelling on high mountains and in sacred woods.

Diana therefore reflects the heavenly world (dium) in its sovereignty, supremacy, impassibility, and indifference towards such secular matters as the fates of men and states. At the same time, however, she is seen as active in ensuring the succession of kings and in the preservation of mankind through the protection of childbirth. These functions are apparent in the traditional institutions and cults related to the goddess. 1) The institution of the rex Nemorensis, Diana’s sacredos in the Arician wood, who held its position til somebody else challenged and killed him in a duel, after breaking a branch from a certain tree of the wood. This ever totally open succession reveals the character and mission of the goddess as a guarantee of the continuity of the kingly status through successive generations.The same meaning implying her function of bestower of regality is testified by the story related by Livy of the prediction of empire to the land of origin of the person who would offer her a particularly beautiful cow. 2) Diana was also worshipped by women who sought pregnancy or asked for an easy delivery.

This kind of worship is testified by archeological finds of votive statuettes in her sanctuary in the nemus Aricinum as well as by ancient sources, e.g. Ovid. According to Dumezil the forerunner of all frame gods is an Indian epic hero who was the image (avatar) of the Vedic god Dyaus. Having renounced the world, in his roles of father and king, he attained the status of an immortal being while retaining the duty of ensuring that his dynasty is preserved and that there is always a new king for each generation. The Scandinavian god Heimdallr performs an analogous function: he is born first and will die last. He too gives origin to kingship and the first king, bestowing on him regal prerogatives. Diana, although a female deity, has exactly the same functions, preserving mankind through childbirth and royal succession. Dumezil’s interpretation appears deliberately to ignore that of James G. Frazer, who links Diana with the male god Janus as a divine couple. Frazer identifies the two with the supreme heavenly couple Jupiter-Juno and additionally ties in these figures to the overarching Indoeuropean religious complex.

This regality is also linked to the cult of trees, particularly oaks. In this interpretative schema, the institution of the Rex Nemorensis and related ritual should be seen as related to the theme of the dying god and the kings of May. Physical Description Diana often appeared as a young woman, age around 12 to 19. It was believed that she had a fair face like Aphrodite with a tall body, slim, small hips, and a high forehead. As a goddess of hunting, she wore a very short tunic so she could hunt and run easily and is often portrayed holding a bow, and carrying a quiver on her shoulder, accompanied by a deer or hunting dog. Sometimes the hunted creature would also be shown. As goddess of the moon, however, Diana wore a long robe, sometimes with a veil covering her head. Both as goddess of hunting and goddess of the moon she is frequently portrayed wearing a moon crown. Worship Diana was initially just the hunting goddess, associated with wild animals and woodlands. She also later became a moon goddess, supplanting Titan goddess Luna. She also became the goddess of childbirth and ruled over the countryside.

Diana was worshipped at a festival on August 13, when King Servius Tullius, himself born a slave, dedicated her temple on the Aventine Hill in the mid-sixth century BC. Being placed on the Aventine, and thus outside the pomerium, meant that Diana’s cult essentially remained a ‘foreign’ one, like that of Bacchus; she was never officially ‘transferred’ to Rome as Juno was after the sack of Veii. It seems that her cult originated in Aricia, where her priest, the Rex Nemorensis remained. There the simple open-air fane was held in common by the Latin tribes, which Rome aspired to weld into a league and direct. Diana of the wood was soon thoroughly Hellenized, “a process which culminated with the appearance of Diana beside Apollo in the first lectisternium at Rome”. Diana was regarded with great reverence by lower-class citizens and slaves; slaves could receive asylum in her temples. This fact is of difficult interpretation. Wissowa proposed the explanation that it might be because the first slaves of the Romans must have been Latins of the neighbouring tribes.

Though some Roman patrons ordered marble replicas of the specifically Anatolian “Diana” of Ephesus, where the Temple of Artemis stood, Diana was usually depicted for educated Romans in her Greek guise. If she is accompanied by a deer, as in the Diana of Versailles this is because Diana was the patroness of hunting. The deer may also offer a covert reference to the myth of Acteon (or Actaeon), who saw her bathing naked. Diana transformed Acteon into a stag and set his own hunting dogs to kill him. Worship of Diana is mentioned in the Bible. In Acts of the Apostles, Ephesian metal smiths who felt threatened by Saint Paul’s preaching of Christianity, jealously rioted in her defense, shouting “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19:28, New English Bible).

After the city secretary (γραμματεύς) quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper (guardian) of the temple of the great Diana and of her image that fell from heaven ?” (Acts 19:36) Sanctuaries Diana was an ancient goddess common to all Latin tribes. Therefore many sanctuaries were dedicated to her in the lands inhabited by Latins. The first one is supposed to have been near Alba before the town was destroyed by the Romans. The Arician wood sanctuary near the lake of Nemi was Latin confederal as testified by the dedicatory epigraph quoted by Cato. She had a shrine in Rome on the Aventine hill, according to tradition dedicated by king Servius Tullius. Its location is remarkable as the Aventine is situated outside the pomerium, i.e. original territory of the city, in order to comply with the tradition that Diana was a goddess common to all Latins and not exclusively of the Romans. Other sanctuaries we know about are listed here below: Temple of Diana, in Evora, Portugal.

Colle di Corne near Tusculum where she is referred to with the archaic Latin name of deva Cornisca and where existed a collegium of worshippers. The Algidus Mount, also near Tusculum At Lavinium At Tivoli, where she is referred to as Diana Opifera Nemorensis A sacred wood mentioned by Livyad computum Anagninum(near Anagni). On Mount Tifata, near Capua in Campania. In Ephesus, where she was worshiped as Diana of Ephesus and the temple used to be one of world’s seven wonders. Legacy In religion Diana’s cult has been related in Early Modern Europe to the cult of Nicevenn (aka Dame Habond, Perchta, Herodiana, etc.). She was related to myths of a female Wild Hunt. Wicca Today there is a branch of Wicca named for her, which is characterized by an exclusive focus on the feminine aspect of the Divine. In some Wiccan texts Lucifer is a name used interchangeably for Diana’s brother Apollo.

Stregheria In Italy the old religion of Stregheria embraced goddess Diana as Queen of the Witches; witches being the wise women healers of the time. Goddess Diana created the world of her own being having in herself the seeds of all creation yet to come. It is said that out of herself she divided into the darkness and the light, keeping for herself the darkness of creation and creating her brother Apollo, the light. Goddess Diana loved and ruled with her brother Apollo, the god of the Sun. (Charles G. Leland, Aradia: The Gospel of Witches) Since the Renaissance the mythic Diana has often been expressed in the visual and dramatic arts, including the opera L’arbore di Diana. In the sixteenth century, Diana’s image figured prominently at the Château de Fontainebleau, in deference to Diane de Poitiers, mistress of two French kings. At Versailles she was incorporated into the Olympian iconography with which Louis XIV, the Apollo-like “Sun King” liked to surround himself. There are also references to her in common literature. In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, many references are made to Diana.

Rosaline, a beautiful woman who has sworn to chastity, is said to have “Dian’s wit”. Later on in the play, Romeo says, “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. Arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon.” He is saying that Juliet is better than Diana and Rosaline for not swearing chastity. Diana is also a character in the 1876 Leo Delibe ballet ‘Sylvia’. The plot deals with Sylvia, one of Diana’s nymphs and sworn to chastity and Diana’s assault on Sylvia’s affections for the shepherd Amyntas. In Jean Cocteau’s 1946 film La Belle et la Bête it is Diana’s power which has transformed and imprisoned the beast. In literature In Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre Diana appears to Pericles in a vision, telling him to go to her temple and tell his story to her followers. Diana is also used by Shakespeare in the famous play As You Like It to describe how Rosaline feels about marriage. Diana is used by Shakespeare in Twelfth Night when Orsino compares Viola (in the guise of Cesario) to Diana.

“Diana’s lip is not more smooth and rubious” Speaking of his wife, Desdemona, Shakespeare’s Othello the Moor says, “Her name that was as fresh/As Dian[a]’s visage, is now begrim’d and black/As mine own face.” There is also a reference to Diana in Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing where Hero is said to seem like ‘Dian in her orb’, in terms of her chastity. In All’s Well That Ends Well Diana is seen again, not only as a figure in the play, but also where Helena makes multiple allusions such as, “Now, Dian, from thy altar do I fly…” and “…wish chastely and love dearly, that your Dian/was both herself and love…” The Steward also says, “…; Dian no queen of virgins,/ that would suffer her poor knight surprised, without/ rescue in the first assault or ransom afterward.” It can be assumed that ‘Dian’ simply a shortening of ‘Diana’ since later in the play when Parolles’ letter to Diana is read aloud it reads ‘Dian’.

The Goddess is also referenced indirectly in Shakespeare’s player A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The character Hippolyta states “And then the moon, like to a silver bow new bent in Heaven”. She refers to Diana, Goddesse of the moon, who is often depicted with a silver hunting bow. In the same play the character Hermia is told by the Duke Theseus that she must either wed the character Demetrius “Or on Diana’s alter to protest for aye austerity and sinle life”. He refers to her becoming a nun, with the Goddesse Diana having connotations of chastity. In The Merchant of Venice Portia states “I will die as chaste as Diana, unless I be obtained by the manner of my father’s will”. (I.ii) In Romeo & Juliet, Romeo describes Rosaline, saying that “She hath Dian’s wit”. Carlos Fuentes’s novel entitled, Diana o la cazadora solitaria (Diana or the lone huntress), was based on The Goddess. Diana Soren was also a character that being described as having the same personality as the goddess.

In “The Knight’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Emily prays to Diana to be spared from marriage to either of her admirers Arcite or Palomon. In “To Science”, the sonnet by Edgar Allan Poe, science “dragged Driana from her car” (9). In language Pomona (left, symbolizing agriculture), and Diana (symbolizing commerce) as building decoration Both the Romanian word for “fairy”, Zână and the Leonese word for “water nymph”, xana, seem to come from the name of Diana. In Arts Diana had become one of the most popular theme of arts. Painters like Titian, Peter Paul Rubens, François Boucher, Nicholas Poussin had made her as a major theme. Most of stories that being exposed are the stories of Diana with Actaeon, story of Callisto, and when she rested after hunting. Some famous work of arts with Diana theme are : Diana and Actaeon, Diana and Callisto, and Death of Actaeon by Titian. Diana and Callisto, Diana Resting After Bath, and Diana Getting Out of Bath by François Boucher.

Diana Bathing With Her Nymphs by Rembrandt. Diana and Endymion by Poussin. Diana and Callisto, Diana and Her Nymph Departing From Hunt, Diana and Her Nymphs Surprised By A Faun by Rubens. Diana and Endymion by Johann Micheal Rottmayr. The famous fountain at Palace of Caserta, Italy, created by Paolo Persico, Brunelli, Pietro Solari told a story about when Diana being surprised by Acteon. A sculpture by Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain could be seen at the Musée du Louvre. A sculptural mascot on the Diana car manufactured by the Diana Motors Company. In Beaux Arts Beaux Arts architecture and garden design (late 19th and early 20th centuries) used classic references in a modernized form. Two of the most popular of the period were of Pomona (goddess of orchards) as a metaphor for Agriculture, and Diana, representing Commerce, which is a perpetual hunt for advantage and profits. In Parma at the convent of San Paolo, Antonio Allegri da Correggio painted the camera of the Abbess Giovanna Piacenza’s apartment.

He was commissioned in 1519 to paint the ceiling and mantel of the fireplace. On the mantel he painted an image of Diana riding in a chariot pulled possibly by a stag. In Film Diana/Artemis appears at the end of the ‘Pastoral Symphony’ segment of ‘Fantasia’. In his 1968 film La Mariée était en noir François Truffaut plays on this mythological symbol. Julie Kohler, played by Jeanne Moreau, poses as Diana/Artemis for the artist Fergus. This choice seems fitting for Julie, a character beset by revenge, of which Fergus becomes the fourth victim. She poses with a bow and arrow, wearing white. Other In the funeral oration of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, her brother drew an analogy between the ancient goddess of hunting and his sister – ‘the most hunted person of the modern age’. William Moulton Marston used the Diana myth as a basis for Wonder Woman. For the album art of Progressive metal band Protest the Hero’s second studio album Fortress, Diana is depicted, protected by rams and other animals. The theme of Diana is carried throughout the album.

To know what is right.” – Goddess Prayers and Invocations Research on the Goddess Diana Part 2 Diana . . . The Roman Goddess was known by many names including Queen of Heaven; the Great Goddess; Lunar Virgin; Mother of Animals; Lady of Wild Creatures; and the Huntress. Diana as the Roman Moon-Goddess was originally worshipped on the mountain Tifata near Capua and in sacred forests. Later she was given a temple in the working-class area on the Aventine Hill where she was mainly worshipped by the lower class (plebeians) and the slaves, of whom she was the patroness. She is often depicted carrying a bow and arrow and wearing animal skins or accompanied by animals. When the Greek city of Ephesus fell to Roman rule, Goddess Diana was merged with the Greek Goddess Artemis. This is most likely due to the fact that around the time of the Roman empire, Romans would allow the places they over took to continue worshipping their own Gods and Goddesses, incorporating those Goddesses into the Roman Pantheon.

Artemis and Diana were worshipped at the same times historically and when the Great Greek Temple of Artemis was destroyed the Romans rebuilt it in honor of Diana and the myth of Goddess Diana of Ephesus began. Stories of Goddess Diana are told form the beginning of Troy to the Christian Bible of King James in the scriptures of Acts and the gospels of Paul. Ephesians.” The multi-breasted statue of Diana at Her Temple in Ephesus displayed her capability to nourish all creatures and provide for them. Worshippers adored Goddess Diana so much that the only way the Christians could rid the people of their Goddess was by assimilating her into their new religion. Thus Ephesus became a place of Mary, Mother of God. The church even invented stories of Mary living at Ephesus and being entombed there. In Babylonia, and in the nation of Assyria, she was known as “ISHTAR” The Phoenicians called her “ASTARTE”. The Israelites knew her as “ASHTORETH”. Diana was also the goddess of the Latin commonwealth where She rule with Her brother Lucifer. Lucifer being a Latin word for “Light Bringer”.

In Italy the old religion of Stergheria embraced goddess Diana as Queen of the Witches. Witches being the wise women healers of the time. Goddess Diana created the world of her own being having in herself the seeds of all creation yet to come. It is said that out of herself she divided into the darkness and the light, keeping for herself the darkness of creation and creating her brother Lucifer, the light. Goddess Diana loved and ruled with her brother Lucifer, the god of the Sun and Moon. As time went on, the Earth was created and Diana descended to Earth, as did her brother Lucifer. Diana taught magick and witches were born. One night using witchcraft in the form of a cat, His most beloved animal, Diana tricked Lucifer. She gained entrance to His chamber where She seduced Him. From this union a daughter was born. Goddess Aradia. In other versions of this myth we find the similarities the Christain tales take as their own in attempts to dispel the Goddess. The first being, Lucifer who is so proud of his beauty, and who for his pride is driven from the Paradise of Goddess as is the tale of Lucifer falling from Gods grace.

The second being Goddess Diana also sends Her daughter Aradia to live as a mortal and save the misfortunate people of Earth as does God send His son Jesus to live as a mortal and save the people. As pagans my sisters, Goddess Diana is the eternal Mother of all creation, the first that is and the last that will be. She is the Huntress of the forest seeking means of survival. She is the call of the wild, the beating heart of the forests, the animal spirit within, urging us to remember our origins. She awakens nature within us that we remember to feel the rustling wind through our hair, to hear the howling of a wolf or the echo of a voice in the forest. Goddess Diana calls to us to let our animal essence out and hone our inherent sensibilities. Dance and sing to the moon, run until our heart pounds to the top of a hill, to take a swim in a creek, roll around in the grass as we once did as a children, or just gaze upon the stars in wonderment; knowing all the while that Goddess Diana is within us, sharing sharing our journey. As with the Christian invasion into the old religion , we too are told as women what is right and wrong.

We are told what is the correct thinking to blend into a society that denies us our truth. Not tonight my sisters, tonight we pray to the Goddess Diana that you never forget the wonders of creation, the joy of being alive, and the importance of being a woman. Tonight we pray to Goddess Diana to be filled with Her strength to survive the challenges that would steal our dreams. under Her Full Moon we are alive in Her reflection. As a Circle of women we pray to Goddess Diana to grants us development and change within ourselves. As we embrace Her energy that is the vibrations of the universe that lives within us let the hunt begin. Let us seek out and tame the resources that is the beast and the forest of our lives. As goddess Diana let us be the huntress of our path. Tonight as women we say “Great is the Goddess Diana and Great is the Goddess in Me”. Research on the Goddess Diana Part 3 Know me I have many names, many faces You know me as the Queen of Heaven, The Huntress, Lady of the Wild Creatures, Lunar Virgin, Daughter of the Moon, My name has been Ishtar, Astarte, Artemis, Ashtoreth. I am mother to Aradia. Sister to Lucifer.

Daughter of Zeus, most high. You will find me in Tifata, nearCapua. My temple is atEphesus, before the time of others that stole. My temple is in your heart. My name is your name. My life is your life, our hearts beat as one. I am Diana When I am a maiden on Ostara, call me by name… Diana, Aphrodite, Arianrhod, Venus, Cybele, Freya, and Rhiannon. When I am the mother on Litha, call me by name… Amaterasu, Hestia, Juno, and Sunna When I am the Crone on Samhain, call me by name… Hecate, Inanna, Machi, Mari, Ishtar and Lilith. Call me down when the moon shines full. Embrace me when the moon is dark. Caress me when the moon waxes and wanes. I am Diana In the night sky as the Great She Bear. In the phases of the moon, In nature, the beauty of a sunrise The mystery of the moon rise.

Speak to me at dawn, at noon when the sun’s heat warms your face Whisper to me at dusk when purple fingers of nights stain the sky Sing to me at midnight as you dance beneath my silvery luminescence. Light a white candle and I am there Use jasmine and breathe in my spirit. Place a moonstone in your pocket and I walk with you. Carry me within your heart and we shall be together Always. Written by Ladyhawke. Copyright 2008 Diana in prayer, magic and divination. Hail Diana Blessed Lady of the Beasts I dedicate myself to You May my path honor Thee May my spirit celebrate Thee May my life force magnify Thee These things I pray The God and Goddess | The Story of Artemis Artemis: Goddess of Light And Protector of the Vulnerable In Greek mythology Artemis (also known as the Roman goddess Diana) was the daughter of Zeus, the mighty ruler of the Olympian gods. After an affair and secretly impregnating Leto, Leto had to give birth to Aretmis while being chased by the Python sent by Hera. Fortunately for Leto her first child, Artemis, was birthed without any pain.

However Leto had twins so her labor continued, and as weak as she was the newborn Artemis quickly took the roll as midwife and helped birth her twin brother Apollo. You could say that, of all the Greek goddesses, the goddess Artemis was literally born to serve as a nurturer and protector! It looks like though both twins had young knacks for things. On her birthday Artemis asked for Six wishes from Zeus, his father. These wishes were. 1. To be able to live life chaste. 2. To be able to be a lifelong bachelorette and never marry. 3. A bow and arrow like that of Artemis’s 4. Hunting dogs to assist her hunting. 5. Stags to lead her chariot. 6. And 80 virgin nymphs to be her hunting companions. Zeus was amused by wishes and being the good father granted her each wish she asked for. Artemis would never marry, and would be chaste for all eternity. She roamed with her hunting dogs, nymphs, and her stags, hunting all throughout the mountains where she resided.

Artemis was very protective of the chastity of her nymphs and was angered when they didn’t keep their purity. In the case of Callisto, Zeus had disguised himself as Artemis and took advantage and impregnated Callisto, Artemis was furious that she was no longer chaste and blamed her loss of purity on her. Artemis then immediately irrevocably turned her into a bear. However before Artemis killed Callisto in bear form Zeus intervened turning Callisto into constellation in the stars, as Callisto the Bear, also known as Ursa Major. The Greek goddess Artemis was frequently called upon to nurture her needy and somewhat ineffectual mother. Many times she came to the aid of her mother healing her from sickness. Artemis very naturally became the patron saint of childbirth, the protector of children, and the goddess who especially heard the appeals of women. Helping women in childbirth by relieving them of the pain they suffer on several occasions. . Artemis is unsurprisingly associated with the wilderness and the natural world.

She symbolizes the untamed spirit, never being tied down by things such as love, being the eternal huntress of the forests.The Greek goddess Artemis was famous for her hunting skills, especially with her bow and arrow. She had unerring aim that never missed her target. She was a very able hunter taking down some of the most terrifying beasts with ease and grace. Artemis was also very protective of the animals in her domain. Once the King Agamemnon slaughtered one of Artemis’s sacred stags and boasted that he was a superior hunter to Artemis. In vengeance while Agamemnon and his forces were sailing to Troy for the Trojan War Artemis becalmed the ships so they were stuck in the middle of the sea with no wind. Artemis then demanded Agamemnon sacrifice his daughter and then Artemis would restore the wind. In the end Artemis herself swaps the sacrifice of Artemis was a goddess very comfortable with her female companions and rarely ever had male companions excepting her twin brother. She often bathed and danced with her nymphs and womanly companions. Once the hunter Actaeon saw Artemis bathing with her nymphs and was paralyzed in wonderment staring at all the women bathing in the river.

Artemis, was none too pleased at the peeping tom and so she turned him into a stag and made his own dogs attack and kill him. Artemis never had any love affairs, but one. That was with the mortal Orion. Artemis was in love with Orion. However, upset that his sister's time and attentions had been diverted away from him, the God Apollo, her twin, became very jealou. So when Orion was swimming far into the ocean Apollo made a wager with Artemis that she couldn’t hit the floating object on the horizon. Artemis being the prideful archer she was took the wager gladly and proudly drew her bow and shot the object on the horizon winning the wager. However once she won she realized that the “floating object” was actually her only lover Orion. In her great grief the Goddess Artemis turned Orion into various stars and shot him into the night sky, making him a constellation in the night sky forevermore. The Greek goddess Artemis was often associated with the moon, especially the crescent or "new" moon. Phoebe was one of the many names she was called. The name Phoebe means the "light one" or "bright one".

Artemis "Goddess of Light" had the divine duty of illuminating the darkness. Artemis was often depicted carrying a candle or torch, lighting the way for others, leading them through territories yet uncharted. In Greek mythology Artemis, despite her "wildness" (her refusal to conform to conventional ways or tradition) and her fierce independence, was depicted as one of the compassionate, healing goddesses. Of all the Greek goddesses, she was the most self-sufficient, living life on her own terms, comfortable both in solitude and in holding the reins of leadership. The Greek goddess Artemis gives us courage. Like her counterpart, the Roman goddess Diana, she illuminates those places that terrify us and lends us her strength to bring us safely through our fears.

Question: Who was the Greek goddess of the hunt, the equivalent of the Roman goddess Diana?
Answer: Artemis