Artemis, rich with values

Whether one encounters her on the pages of Homeric poems or in modem essays on Greek mythology, Artemis touches our hearts because of the completeness of the values she represents and for the universality of which she is a symbol.

Artemis – present in the Roman pantheon with the name Diana, and in the Etruscan one as Artume – is the goddess of the hunt, of wild animals, archery, forests and fields cultivated by humans. She is the goddess of feminine initiations, the protector of virginity, modesty, and the dances with which girls celebrate their entry into adulthood. She is the inspiration for lunar mysticism and feminine intuitions – even when men are the ones who have them, as the intuitions arise from their feminine side. Artemis is gifted with audacity, vigor audacity, vigor and determination, as well as great beauty and energy which, when necessary, she uses in combat without hesitation.

Artemis and her twin brother Apollo, the god of light, beauty and the arts, are the children of Zeus and Leto. Due to Hera’s jealousy, Leto was not finding a place to give birth, until Poseidon – doing Zeus a favor – offered her a protected place on the island of Delos, in the Aegean sea. There, the two divine siblings would have splendid temples dedicated to them and the island would be considered “the most sacred of them all.” A unique light shines on it, which is a gift from Apollo to the island that made it possible for him and Artemis to be born.

According to some myths, Artemis was the one who first came to light and then helped her mother give birth to Apollo. This is an ancient metaphor for the modern idea that nature comes before culture and provides the foundation so that it can develop.
In the Greece of the polis, the veneration of Artemis was not tied to a specific area. The goddess was welcomed and worshiped everywhere. With her presence, she connected the stories of different people whom daily and historical events would have divided. Today, we also need an Artemis in the pantheon and in the archetypes of every peoples.

Artemis is beautiful, wild, strong and free. She lives in the woods, surrounded by her dogs as well as her nymphs. She is the lunar goddess of inspiration and intuition. She draws energy and strength from the moon and consciously directs her own energy. On an alchemical level, the characteristic of virginity indicates the capacity to contain pure energies and forces that are directed toward an objective with will. A truly divine power.

Today Artemis seems to be embodied by another extraordinary female figure: Vers, in the new film Captain Marvel. From green-blue blood like the entire race of the Kree heroes, Vers lives on Hala, but she will be sent to Earth – where he has already lived – to fight the enemies of her species. She is strong like an Amazonian, intelligent and quick, and she is also witty, likable, and sensitive to the emergence of the memories of her earthly past that gradually come back to life within her.
Her strength does not come from superpowers but from her determined character, her sense of justice, and her compassion. It is thanks to these qualities that she can use them in favor of a just cause.

Vers/Marvel, the military fighter who chooses peace, who offers herself as an example for the universe of young women who are growing up in these years, just as young Greek women revered Artemis in the temples dedicated to her, as example to be inspired by. Whether she is the heroine of a successful film or a woman who lives everyday life in our times, Artemis still sends dreams and intuitions that make the life richer and fuller, for those who know how to take hold of them.

Stambecco Pesco