Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, moon, wood/forest, hills, and children. She was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the deer and cypress were sacred, representing her. She also helped with childbirth, but brought swift death with her arrows. She was often depicted as a beautiful young woman in buckskin clothes, holding a bow and arrow. Artemis was extremely associated with chastity and virginity, and was a celibate, but in some cities, she was goddess of fertility. She was such a believer in virginity, that all of her companions (wood nymphs, etc.) were celibates. If they changed their ways, however, they may be killed by her arrows. If a man tried to approach her romantically, or accidentally stumbled upon her nude, they would also be killed. One example of that is of the great hunter Actaeon, who, while in the forest, came across a pool where Artemis and her wood nymphs were bathing. Artemis turned him into a deer and set his own hounds on him.
Imagine Artemis was around today. What would she think? I believe that she would be upset about a thing or two. With her very great belief in chastity and virginity, I think she would be immensely upset with all the immorality in the media, etc. Her animals were sacred to her, but she was the goddess of hunting, so she might disapprove of the endangerment of various species, but she also might be up for the hunting. She was sort of a “nature girl,” and valued the environment, so global warming would not rest well with her.
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