In the wild lands

Not all the Greek gods and goddesses lived on Mount Olympus. Some visited from time to time from their own realms, such as Poseidon and Hades. Artemis was one goddess reputed to have shunned the glory of the highest seat in heaven to live in the wild lands, nearer to her beloved beasts. As goddess of the hunt she had become the face of the death goddess, even though earlier images of Artemis showed her many-breasted so that she could also nurture all the diverse creatures in nature.  Later statues of Artemis most often depict her with her bow and arrows in the company of her sacred dogs or sometimes a stag. She was always described as wearing a chiton, or knee length skirt rather than the full length dress required of grown women. This was said to make it easier for her to run and hunt.

In one myth, Orion was said to be her lover, but her jealous brother Apollo dared her to shoot a target swimming in the sea, knowing full well it was Orion. Naturally, Artemis had flawless aim even when her eyesight failed to identify the victim until it was too late. Looking at the statues of Artemis next to images of the constellation Orion, it would seem that they were more than lovers, virtually posing and dressing the same. One of the stars in Orion’s belt was even called “vagina” in ancient times: an odd name for the genitals of the great (male) hunter, we now consider Orion to represent. In the star map above one can see that Orion is followed by Canis Major or the Great Dog. Is this the origin of Artemis sacred animal as the hunting dog?

Orion is bisected by the celestial equator making it one of the most southerly of the constellations in Ptolemy’s universe. It is far away from the North Celestial Pole where the immortal gods lived, so part of the myth of Artemis is about living in the wild lands. Another aspect of her southerly position in the skies is that Artemis is another goddess known for ritual bathing, with the benefit of allowing her to regenerate or renew herself. Since the constellations in this region appear to disappear into the sea at certain times of the year, bathing would be a perfect metaphor for the setting of this constellation.