Artemis (Greek: ρτεμις、 English: Artemis), also known as Cynthia, is the goddess of hunting in ancient Greek mythology, known as "the mistress of beasts and the lord of wilderness". One of the twelve main gods of Olympus. She is also the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo.
Artemis is free and independent, loves wild life, and opposes marriage between men and women. She likes unmarried virgins and young men and women who despise Aphrodite. She, Hestia and Athena are regarded as the three goddesses on Mount Olympus.
When she was young, she promised her father Zeus that she would be a virgin forever. At the same time, she asked for bows and arrows, all mountains and 20 maids of Ningfu who would take care of her hunting boots. Between the forest and the mountains, Artemis, accompanied by hunting dogs and holding bows and arrows, enjoyed hunting with the fairies who served her. She likes golden antlers very much, and catches them to pull a cart for her.
Artemis was chosen as the god of midwifery by the Goddess of Fate, so he asked Zeus for the right to be in charge of midwifery. She was one of the most worshipped gods in ancient Greece. The Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the world, was specially built for her.

Daughter of Zeus
Artemis
For Zeus, Athena and Artemis were his favorite daughters, but their feelings for Athena and Artemis were different and could not be compared with each other. After Athena's mother, Mephis, was swallowed up, Athena leaped out of the head of Zeus. For Zeus, Athena and Dionysus were his children, and Athena's sense and wisdom made them the most valued subordinates of Zeus.
Artemis was loved by Zeus as a daughter. Zeus could not refuse any request from Artemis. Zeus agreed to all the priests and requests that Artemis asked Zeus.
When she was three years old, Zeus promised her a request as a birthday gift, Artemis said to Zeus, "My dear father, please give me eternal virginity and a free life. I want to hunt like Apollo, and I need a long bow, sharp arrows and hunting clothes like Apollo. I also need twenty beautiful Ocean Goddesses as my attendants. Finally, you want to give me a city as a place to stay in my lower boundary."
Zeus smiled and said, "Well, my dear daughter, I will promise you everything and give you more gifts to make up for Hera's damage to you. You will not only get one city, but thirty. I also want you to take charge of the mainland and islands and appoint you as the guardian god of the mainland and islands."
Artemis was very happy when she heard this. She immediately went to Crete and chose numerous Ocean Goddesses as her maid. He went to Lipala Island to find a Cyclops and asked him to forge a golden bow and arrow. Pan, the god of animal husbandry, sent her three lop eared dogs, two mottled dogs, a spotted dog, and seven fast running Spartans. At last Artemis found two female deer with horns and put them on the cart with a gold bit as her mount.
Zeus had promised Artemis that his title would not be less than his brother's, and Artemis was also one of the main gods next to Hera, the queen of heaven. Artemis was undoubtedly Zeus's favorite daughter.
The role played by Artemis is complex. Artemis, who is both a goddess of hunting and a goddess of fertility, usually dresses as a hunter, often wears a tunic and hunting boots, carries a bow and spear, and is accompanied by deer or hounds. In Greek mythology, Artemis has nothing to do with the so-called crescent crown. In Roman mythology, Diana has the symbol of the moon on her head. Artemis is often depicted as a beautiful young girl with extremely beautiful appearance, and is the best among many goddesses on Mount Olympus.

With his brother Apollo
As for whether Artemis and Apollo were sister, brother or sister, it is very clear in Greek mythology that the elder Artemis gave birth to his brother Apollo. Because they are twins, modern people put forward the question. However, in Greek mythology, it is mentioned that Apollo was born after nine days, and Artemis and other goddesses delivered the baby for Leto, which is an important myth source of Artemis as a midwife goddess.

Hunting Goddess: The bow and arrow is the most important symbol of Artemis. She often wore a sleeveless short skirt and a beastly hat, and walked through the jungle hunting surrounded by Ning Fu's attendants. She is a goddess worshipped by hunters. The mountains of Taygetus and Eremasos in Peloponnese are her frequent haunts.
Goddess of Nature: If hunting is Artemis's most prominent ministry. Then nature represents her essence. She is a great god of nature. Therefore, she is not only the goddess of hunting, but also the goddess of mountains, caves, forests, wilderness, etc., as well as the animal protection god of wild animals and fish.
The goddess of archery and archery: As a female hunter, the bow is her symbol, so she is also the goddess of archery and archery. Homer's ode describes Artemis as a goddess with a golden bow and arrow. She is a powerful female soldier with superb shooting skills.
Goddess of midwifery and newborn: Artemis originates from the ancient Mother God of Nature, and fertility is the symbol of Mother God. In Greek mythology, this turned into her midwifery ministry, which was in charge of childbirth and delivery of newborn babies. Eileiithyia is the goddess of labor. At the same time, Artemis, as the protection god of wild animals, divided chaotic newborn babies and wild animals into the same category in ancient Greece.
The Goddess of Abundance and Pregnancy: Of course, the more ancient significance of Artemis as the mother of fertility is still there. She is still related to the fertility of nature. In the famous Artemis Temple, one of the seven wonders of ancient times, it was worshipped in the image of the goddess of milk.
Goddess of War: As the goddess of long-range, Artemis is a powerful soldier. Therefore, in the Byzantine city-state of ancient Greece, she was also sacrificed as a female god of war.
The Goddess of Disease and Death: Originating from the Mother God of Nature, she not only has a natural rich side, but also has a natural harsh side. Therefore, she has the ability to bring people plagues and diseases, and she can also make women die suddenly.

Goddess of Rehabilitation: With the development of society, in order to offset the identity of Artemis as the god of the epidemic, people also believe that she can drive away diseases and heal wounds, and its role in bringing sudden death and plague counteracts each other.
Moon Goddess: In Greek mythology, Artemis was not originally a moon god. Like Apollo and Helios, until the late period, she was influenced by the moon goddess Selene, who used her to describe the moon in an Aeschylus poem.
Gods of unmarried girls: Artemis and Athena were in charge of the virgin period of girls. When a girl wants to marry, she will return her belt from her virginity to Athena or Artemis in the temple, and enter the marriage period under the leadership of Aphrodite and Hera. In some parts of Greece, the girl had to confess to Artemis the night before she got married and begged for her permission. Because Artemis did not like the girls getting married, she would be furious if an event offended the goddess's concept of chastity happened.
Purification goddess: Artemis, like Apollo, Athena and Asclepius, is the goddess of purification ceremony, and can purify impure and tainted murderers.
In the ancient hunting era, many hunting activities were carried out at night. In addition, the fertility of women is also a symbol of fertility. Thus, the number of prey around the living environment and the number of hunting results are determined. As a result, the worship of female reproduction in the matrilineal society was added with a special meaning, and then the image of Artemis, the goddess, was created and handed down. She is a collection of ancient primitive nature worship and reproduction worship. The human society has entered the agricultural society. Due to the change of the mode of production, the first two images of Artemis have been forgotten, but its image of fertility still has an important worship significance. So the image of the goddess of milk appeared. In fact, this is the continuation and strengthening of the ancient worship of female reproduction.
In late ancient Greece, some functions of Selene as the full moon goddess were transferred to Artemis. Artemis herself is the goddess of nature. Hunting forests is its essence, which has nothing to do with the worship of the moon. In her late period, all the nature of the moon god was transferred from Selene.
Partly because Selene is an ancient god from Asia Minor, she originated from the pure moon deification and light worship. The Greeks had long regarded the worship of the moon as a barbarian custom, so they used Artemis, the hunting goddess, to take the post. Although the latter was also a deity introduced from Asia Minor or deeply influenced by Asia Minor, Artemis was a much more important goddess in ancient Greece than Selene. During this period, the image of Selene was often confused with other goddesses, such as Artemis, Io, Hera, etc.