Artemis. Daughter of Zeus (Jupiter) and Leto (Latona) and twin sister of Apollo, Artemis is the virgin goddess, patroness of the hunt and defender of chastity.
Worshiped during the Classical period, Artemis appears earlier on a Linear B tablet as a slaveowner, and her origins may have been Minoan. She is said to have been born at Ortygia (Quail Island), which may be another name for Delos, the accepted birthplace of Apollo. (Artemis is sometimes called Cynthia, a name derived from the island’s Mount Cyn-thos; she is also called Phoebe, after her grandmother, the Titan Phoebe.) Born before Apollo, she helped to deliver him, an act that reflects her role as a goddess of childbirth, along with Hera and Eileithyia.
     As a goddess of the hunt she is often depicted carrying a bow and arrow, wearing animal skins, or accompanied by animals. Her band of chaste maidens is often pursued by satyrs. She is also the goddess of chastity; a number of legends, among them her intervention against the sacrifice of Iphigenia and her punishment of the nymph Callisto, reflect her role as protectress of maidens and enforcer of purity.
     As a goddess of the night, Artemis became identified with the moon goddess, Selene (Luna). In this guise she is said to have fallen in love with Endymion.
     The Roman goddess Diana, who shares many traits with Artemis, was established even before Rome’s predominance in ancient Italy; she was worshiped especially by women and slaves. The center of her cult was at Aricia, near Lake Nemi, which was also known as “Diana’s mirror,” perhaps a suggestion of her power as moon goddess, since the moon was reflected in the waters of the lake. She had a temple on the Aventine hill, just outside the early Roman walls, and was also worshiped in Campania at Mount Tifata near Capua, an area with strong Greek influence; it is perhaps at this site that the two traditions combined.
     Like Artemis, Diana is a virgin huntress and a goddess of childbirth. She is also associated with the underworld and was said to preside over all places where three roads meet, functions also shared by Hecate. In the latter role she was given the epithet "Trivia” (“of the crossroads”).
     In postclassical treatments, Artemis is often depicted with her brother, Apollo, or in her role as goddess of the hunt. Images of her bathing — often derived from the story of her punishment of Actaeon—or resting after the hunt, with or without her companion nymphs and sometimes spied upon by satyrs, are also popular. She is also seen as a personification of virtue triumphing over vice (often represented by Aphrodite, Eros, or satyrs).

See also: Actaeon; Artemis of Ephesus; Callisto; Endymion; Eros, Punishment; Gods and Goddesses; Hecate; Iphigenia; Leto; Meleager; Niobe; Orion; Pan, Loves; Phaedra and Hippolytus; Selene.