Artemis

Artemis, twin sister of Apollo, god of the sun, is the virgin goddess of the
moon and the protectress of childbirth. Along with Hestia and Athena, she is
one of the three maiden goddesses of Olympus, and her connection with
childbirth is just one of the many contradictions associated with her. She
is the most complex of the Olympian deities - at once compassionate and
vindictive, nurturing and destructive. As queen of the wilderness, she
represents the force of nature, in which the cycle of birth and death
continually repeats itself. And while she encourages us to pay attention to
our inner selves, she also recognizes our primal need to connect with
nature. Artemis also understands the nature of wild animals and birds. Known
as the Bear-Mother, Artemis has a fierce exterior, but, like a mother bear,
also displays a softer side of herself. Artemis simply did not care for men
and had a strong need to protect herself against those who came too close.
However, she did fall in love once, with the hunter Orion. Tragically, she
accidentally killed her beloved with an arrow while proving her shooting
skills to her twin brother, Apollo. Artemis's father was Zeus, king of the
gods, whose legendary extramarital dalliances produced many offspring. Zeus
had an affair with the nymph Leto, resulting in the birth of Artemis and
Apollo. Just minutes after her own birth, the infant Artemis helped her
mother move to a better birthing place and painlessly deliver her twin. In
recognition of Artemis's miraculous help, women of ancient Greece paid
homage to her temple during pregnancy to ensure a painless labor. When
Artemis was three years old, Leto took her to Mount Olympus to meet her
father, Zeus, who was totally enchanted with his daughter. When he asked her
what presents she would like she, she requested the gift of independence and
adventure, thereby proving her intelligence to Zeus.