In this article we cover one of the major Olympians, Artemis. Artemis and Athena have one major characteristic in common: they are both sworn to virginity, and have absolutely no sexual relationships whatsoever. Thus, these two represent the sacred purity of young women before the age of marriage.
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By the time of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, the most frequent depictions of Artemis portray her as she is seen here, the goddess of the hunt, armed with her bow and arrows. Below are three views of a well-known sculpture of her in this form, a work known as Artemis of Versailles, now on display at the Louvre in Paris.
Artemis of Versaille 1
Artemis of Versaille 2
Artemis of Versaille 3
Although no specifics are known regarding the artist or time of its creation, there is definitely a sense of similarity to the statue of Apollo Belvedere, seen in the previous section. Apollo and Artemis are brother and sister twins, so a connection between the two sculptures is entirely possible. The best we can say is that it is most likely a Roman-era copy of a late Classical work (4th Century B.C.).
Other works from later times employ this conception of the goddess. First is the painting attributed to the school of Fontainebleu (since the specific artist's name is unknown), that is, one of the artists who decorated the palace of Fontainebleu in the time of Francis I, who ruled France from 1515 to 1547.
Fountainebleu
The second painting here is another French work, this one by the famous Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), known primarily for his impressionist paintings.
Renoir
This sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), one of the most prominent American sculptors of the late 1800s, was originally commissioned to stand atop Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City. The first photo shows the building when it was still relatively new in the 1880s.
Madison Square Garden
This 19-foot Diana was a source of some controversy, since some public officials found the nudity too blatant. The original figure was then transported to Chicago for the World's Fair of 1893-4, where it crowned the Agriculture building, as seen in the two views below. St. Gaudens was in fact pleased to make a second version for New York, since he thought the first figure was too large. The 13-foot replacement is seen in a 1905 photograph, and in its current location in the Metropolitan Museum of New York.
World's Fair
Agriculture Building
Madison Square Garden 2
Metropolitan
This form of Artemis is obviously quite different than the previous images. Artemis of Ephesus is a form of the Greek goddess which is more closely related to the Potnia Theron imagery. There is unquestionably an influence deriving from the fertilty goddesses of the ancient Near East (Ephesus is a Greek city on the coast of Asia Minor, geographically adjacent to the kingdoms of the Near East).
There once was a colossal statue of the goddess in this form in her temple at Ephesus, but as in other similar giant statues, nothing remains of the original, but we do have small-scale replicas which duplicate its appearance. She is seen in these two replicas, the goddess standing rigidly upright, her garment and headdress adorned with numerous images of animals, since she is the fertilty goddess of all wildlife.
Notable are what some believe to represent multiple breasts on her torso, since she is the nurturer of all life, a form of the ancient 'mother goddess'.
Ephesus 1
Ephesus 2
The temple which housed the colossal statue became one of the most famous in the Greek world in the Hellenistic period, glorified as another of the Seven Wonders of the World. Although this temple is no longer standing, there are enough remains to at least be able to recreate its appearance, as seen here in two modern restorations.
Temple 1
Temple 2
Despite a basic similarity to the Parthenon, the Temple of Ephesus was much, much larger, as seen in the comparative diagram. The temple was also much more elaborately decorated, with each column containing sculpted figures around the base.
Ephesus - Parthenon
This is one Greek story which features Artemis along with her twin brother Apollo, as the angry avengers of their mother's honor. A mortal woman, the queen of Thebes Niobe had had six (or seven) sons and the same number of daughters. She then boasted that this made her a greater mother than Leto, who had had only two children, Apollo and Artemis. The enraged mother of the twins sent her offspring to punish Niobe by slaying her children, known as the Niobids.
The first image below is a red-figure vase painting which shows the twins together, each armed with bow and arrows, shooting down the Niobids. This artist has been given the name of the Niobid Painter from this vase. The other side depicts the assembly of Jason and the Argonauts, a scene which appears also in the Oedipus article.
Red Figure
Red Figure
Red Figure
The next images are two views of a Classical sculpture of a Niobid believed to have once been a part of a pediment group. The exact date and place of its creation are unknown. This piece, like the Ludovisi Throne seen in the Titans, was brought from Greece to Rome at some point, where it became part of the collection at the Gardens of Sallust in the 1st Century B.C. Comparison with other Greek works suggests a date of about 440 B.C., roughly the same time as the sculptures of he Parthenon.
Niobid 1
Niobid 2
As in the previous story, one of the key themes in this myth is the goddess inflicting a severe punishment upon a human victim. His name was Actaeon, also from Thebes, and was a renowned hunter. One day as he was travelling through the woods with his dogs, he happened across Artemis and her followers just as they were undresssing to bathe.
But Artemis, like Athena, was an absolute virgin goddess, and even the idea of a man seeing her naked caused her to fly into a rage. Artemis used her powers against the man, transforming him into a deer, so that when he fled, his own hunting dogs attacked and killed the animal, not knowing it was their master.
The first painting below, by Titian, shows Actaeon as he stumbles upon the women undressing. Artemis is giving him an angry glare just before transforming him.
Titian 1
The next painting is also by Titian, showing the punishment. Actaeon is seen on the right, a human body with a deer head, attacked by his dogs.
Titian 2
The next painting, by D'Arpino, has a similar scene, with the deer's antlers beginning to sprout from his head.
Cavaliere D'Arpino
The last two are works from the Classical period, one a sculpted metope and a red-figure vase painting (overall view and close-up), which both depict Actaeon in his human form being attacked by the dogs. Although this seems to contradict the story, it should be seen as artistic license. These artists realized that if they showed him as a deer, one wouldn't know this was really a man who had been transformed. What is clear is that the dogs perceive him as a deer.
Red Figure
Detail
