Greek Name: Artemis
Roman Name: Diana
Role in Mythology : Goddess of the hunt (late Greek/Roman mythology: Goddess of moon)
The Greek goddess Artemis was associated with hunting and wild animals. She was also connected to childbirth, nature, the harvest, the moon, and the protection of young women. She is seen here in an early 17th-century painting by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens.
Artemis, in Greek mythology, one of the principal goddesses, counterpart of the Roman goddess Diana. She was the daughter of the god Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of the god Apollo. She was chief hunter to the gods and goddess of hunting and of wild animals, especially bears. Artemis was also the goddess of childbirth, of nature, and of the harvest. As the moon goddess, she was sometimes identified with the goddesses Selene and Hecate.
Although traditionally the friend and protector of youth, especially young women, Artemis prevented the Greeks from sailing to Troy during the Trojan War until they sacrificed a maiden to her. According to some accounts, just before the sacrifice, she rescued the victim, Iphigenia. Like Apollo, Artemis was armed with a bow and arrows, which she often used to punish mortals who angered her. In other legends, she is praised for giving young women who died in childbirth a swift and painless death.
