Artemis the Goddess of chastity, the moon, the hunt, children, childbirth, etc. is, from my research, one of the most protective of women out of all the Gods. From birth, Artemis has always been depicted as this motherly and feminine figure who protects all women and children she comes into contact under her wing. While scouring the internet, I read that not only did Artemis help with the birth of her own twin brother (two days after her own birth) but she also has a very strong sense of justice, so from the beginning of her life, Artemis has been tied to not only childbirth but the topic of children/family. Then with this in mind, it is fairly easy to understand why she is also depicted with chastity and virginity after I tell this quick myth.
Once upon a time, there was a woman named Kallisto. This women had sworn virginity under the Goddess Artemis and was never without the company of the Goddess, so she basically was always following her around, eating meals with her, etc. Until one day, Kallisto broke her oath of chastity when she was seduced by Zeus and became pregnant. Knowing this was wrong and feeling ashamed, Kallisto kept this a secret because she was scared of how Artemis would react. Then one day in the baths, Artemis found out and in rage, turned Kallisto into a bear.
Another couple interesting things about Artemis is that she is also associated with:
- heron
- cypress trees
- Stag/doe
- a doe drawn chariot
Finally, Artemis' family is pretty small and only consists of Leto (her mother), Apollo (her twin brother), and Zeus (her father). This is pretty interesting because Artemis is not in favor of Zeus but kind of sucks up to him anyway because he is the king of the Gods and also her father, but the situation is made even more interesting because Artemis had tried to kill/hurt Zeus in a good number of times in a variety of translated myths. It is in my opinion that one day we are going to find a huge temple somewhere dedicated to the Goddess and the only pictures on the walls are drawings of Artemis taking revenge on Zeus (that's how much she hates him).
Citations:
http://www.theoi.com/Heroine/Kallisto.html
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ArtemisWrath.html#Aktaion
https://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Artemis/artemis.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=artemis+artwork&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTw8a1y4nfAhUESa0KHR4OBRgQ_AUIDigB&biw=1440&bih=790#imgrc=fl_h_y7hXCPsYM:
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