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Artemis

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This article contains lore based on real-life sources of the Greek mythology as introduced from the God of War Greek era.

“ Kratos, the gods demand more of you. ”

–Artemis

Artemis (Greek: Ἄρτεμις) is the Olympian Goddess of the Hunt. She is the daughter of Zeus and oldest twin sister of Apollo.

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What is Artemis known as the goddess of in Greek mythology? toggle section
In Greek mythology, Artemis holds the titles of Goddess of the Hunt, Moon, Wilderness, Virginity, Fertility, Childbirth, and Protection. She also governs forests, wild beasts, archery, and disease, and is recognized as a guardian of young, unmarried women.
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Who are the parents of Artemis in Greek mythology? toggle section
Artemis, a widely worshiped deity in the Hellenic world, is the daughter of the Titan Leto and Zeus in Greek mythology. She was born on Delos and has a twin brother, Apollo, whose birth she assisted.
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What is the relationship between Artemis and Apollo? toggle section
Artemis, the Goddess of Childbirth in Greek mythology, and Apollo are twins. Artemis was born first, aiding her mother Leto during Apollo's birth. In the God of War series, they are both half-siblings to Kratos.
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How was Artemis worshiped in the Hellenic world? toggle section
In the Hellenic world, Artemis, the god of hunting, forests, wild beasts, archery, and disease, was widely worshiped. She was also revered as the protector of young and unmarried women and the Goddess of Childbirth. During the Trojan war, Artemis, Apollo, and their mother Leto sided with Troy. In a confrontation with Hera, Artemis was defeated, her weapons knocked to the ground.
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What role did Artemis play as a protector in Greek mythology? toggle section
Artemis, in Greek mythology, was revered as the goddess of hunting, forests, wild beasts, and archery. She was also recognized as the protector of young, unmarried women. Born on Delos to the Titan Leto, Artemis assisted in the birth of her twin, Apollo, and took on the role of Goddess of Childbirth.
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Greek Mythology[]

Artemis was a popular and widely worshiped deity across the Hellenic world. Aside from the usual hunting, she ruled over forests and wild beasts, archery and disease. She was also a protector of young and unmarried women.

When the Titan Leto found safe haven on Delos to give birth, Artemis was born first. The young goddess immediately assisted her mother with the birth of her twin Apollo, and from then on she assumed the role of Goddess of Childbirth.

After the birth of the twins Apollo decided to go hunt down Python, the earth-dragon of Delphi that was sent by Hera to kill their mother. With the dragon defeated Hera then sent the giant Tityos after Leto. Artemis and Apollo battled and defeated the giant together. After their victory Zeus stepped in and imprisoned Tityos in Tartarus.

When Artemis and Apollo were still young the twins had been sent by their mother to kill the children of Niobe. The mortal bragged about having more kids than Leto, which upset the Titan goddess. Not wanting to see their mother sad or angry Artemis and Apollo quickly wasted no time in killing the children. Apollo killed Niobe's boys and Artemis killed Niobe's girls. The twins have shown in the fight with the Python, the fight with Tityos the punishment of Niobe and the punishment of the Lycian Peasants that they will protect their mother.

Artemis was a virgin goddess and demanded chastity of her mortal companions, so she had no offspring or lovers. The great hunter Orion did woo her, but a jealous Apollo sent Skorpius to kill him. The giant Scorpion was summoned when Orion started killing too many animals, an act that Apollo knew Gaia would despise. So the sun god used this to his advantage this allowed him to have control over Skorpius.

Because of her beauty and virginity many males such as Adonis, Actaeon, the river god Alpheus and many others tried to win the love of Artemis but to no avail. Orion had been the only one who came close only for their love to tragically end with his death. Actaeon was turned into a deer and killed by his own hounds for watching Artemis bathe and for bragging about his hunting skills. Adonis was killed by a boar because Artemis wanted revenge on Aphrodite for killing one of her hunters.

After Aphrodite killed Hippolytus, one of the male hunters who chose to follow Artemis because the goddess of love couldn't woo him over, Artemis asked for Asclepius to revive him. He agreed but it was an act that would cost him his life, as Hades took offense to it and asked Zeus to kill him. As for Artemis she decided to kill Adonis one of Aphrodite's lovers in an act of vengeance. However the hunting goddess didn't act alone; Ares the god of war heard about Aphrodite having another lover so he decided to help Artemis kill Adonis. The two received news of the mortal from Apollo who also wanted revenge on Aphrodite for blinding one of his children when he saw the goddess of love with Adonis. Together they sent a boar to kill Aphrodite's young mortal lover because Adonis liked to hunt.

When the Giants rose up to overthrow the gods, Artemis fought to defend Olympus, personally cutting down the Giant Gration.

Like the other gods and goddesses Artemis had her mortal champions. Atalanta was greatest out of all her champions. The human Atalanta was left in the woods as baby Artemis sent a female bear to raise the infant. Atalanta eventually left the forest and traveled to the human cities.

Atalanta was one of the heroes to help take down the Calydonian Boar. Artemis sent the beast to attack Calydon because king Oeneus forgot to sacrifice the first fruits of harvest to the goddess. After the boar was killed Atalanta gave the boar's hide to Artemis as an offering in replacement of the fruit.

Artemis, Apollo and her mother Leto sided with Troy during the Trojan war. Artemis fought against Hera but the queen of the gods defeated Artemis by knocking her bow, arrows and quiver on the ground. Then Hera took Artemis own weapons and boxed the hunting goddess' ears with them. After the war Leto picked her daughters weapons and gave them back to Artemis.

God of War series[]

Comics[]

Artemis takes part in the Wager of the Gods, choosing Pothia, Queen of the Kerosians, as her champion. Appropriately, she curses the tribe with stillborn children to force them to search for the Ambrosia, but Pothia's death at the hands of Kratos disqualifies Artemis from winning. She is the only God who does not retaliate against Kratos for costing her the wager.

God of War[]

Her brother Ares assaults Athens, the city of her sister Athena who is unable to directly meet the challenge, due to the Word of Zeus forbidding war between the Gods of Olympus. The Goddess of Wisdom and War makes efforts to gain favour for her cause and that of her Champion, the Ghost of Sparta on his quest to save her city. On Olympus, she visits Artemis private chambers, which are a reflection of her domain on Earth, the Wilderness. Expecting her twin Apollo, the Moon Goddess isnt very formal and gets straight to the point of Athens and its ongoing agony, claiming that between Ares and Athena nothing is simple, unlike in the Hunt where one knows who is hunter and prey.

Athena states that she doesnt ask for her judgement about her and their brother, but is only there to deliver sorrowful news, to which Artemis coldly asks whether the Goddess of Wisdom even cares for anything within that city beyond the name it bears, turning Athena's face cold as stone. The two daughters of Zeus were able to find common ground in their shared disgust for Ares' vile armies of the undead and monsters, who destroy and kill not to survive or to worship the Gods. The march of the War Gods legions on Athens ravages the neighboring forested regions and its wildlife, the domain and creatures of Artemis.

With a promise that her woods would be sacrosant if Athens survives, Artemis sides with her sister and turns her creatures of the wild against the legions of Ares. Many were routed and destroyed by cunning and swift attacks and ambushes by mighty bears, elks, wolves and eagles. Even the powerful Cyclopes were not safe and were easy prey for the venomous vipers. So great was the dissarray and carnage among his army, that the God of War took notice himself and intervened from high above, ripping open the Heavens and stepping onto the wildnerness and berating his minions for being driven like cattle by mere beasts and animals.

Athena and Artemis, hidden and shrouded by divine mist witnessed as the God of Slaughter picked up her creatures in his titanic hand, upon which the Huntress of Olympus revealed herself and ordered her brother to let them go, her bow aimed straight at his face. Briefly startled, he regains his belligerance and refuses to comply, reminding his sister of their fathers edict. Unless she is ready to risk the wrath of Zeus, she cannot attack Ares and to prove the point the cruel god tightened his fist, blood and gore from Artemis animals dripping down on the Earth.

As a response, the Huntress lowers her bow and turns it on Ares' army, in an instant it releases uncountable arrows which fly all over her wild domain, killing every monster and shredding every single undead soldier. For a long moment, the only sound was the mocking cry of a distant eagle. The God of War concedes and makes a truce with his sister, swearing to leave her woodlands in peace.

This has aided the desperate defense of Athens. Without the neighboring forested regions as an axis of advance, the Athenian army could focus its efforts on the Battle at the Long Wall where the main assault of Ares army now came from.

Later, when it was revealed by the Oracle of Athens that Kratos would need to conquer Pandora's Temple and claim the power hidden within, Artemis choose to bestow the Spartan with her Blade, that she herself used in battle against the mighty Titans during the Great War so many ages ago. The Goddess of the Hunt shone with a golden light of eternal adolescense and Kratos inclined his head out of true respect and accepted her gift.

Zeus, when seeing Kratos wielding her legendary sword from high above on Olympus was surprised, asking Athena what trickery she employed to make Artemis give Kratos one of the most powerful weapons in all of creation, to which his daughter replied that she has done no such thing and believes that her sister wants to show her support, in solidarity against Ares' cruelty and insanity.

God of War: Betrayal[]

The goddess herself never appears, but her blade is still wielded by Kratos.

God of War (2018)[]

A runic is named after Artemis called Wrath of Artemis can be obtained by defeating the troll Dauði Munr, who is fought during the onslaught in the Jötunheim tower, in the Realm Between Realms.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Artemis is conspicuous by her absence in later games, as she is the only god from God of War that didn't appear in any other installments, including God of War III.
  • Though Artemis says she killed a Titan with her Blade, in the mythology, the Giants were a separate race born from Gaia to avenge the Titans' loss in the Great War.
    • Additionally, Artemis isn't known to possess any blade in the mythology.
    • It isnt necessarily a mix-up, as the Titanomachy in the God of War series lasted for centuries, and other children of Zeus like at least Hermes and Hephaestus have took part in it, so Artemis very well may have been born during the war and fought the Titans alongside her fellow Gods.
  • The tragedy of Actaeon the Hunter has been mentioned in the novelization, with the hunter being turned into a stag and ended up being ripped apart by his own hounds for catching a glimpse of the maiden goddess bathing. Artemis herself seemed not to dwell on this too much, unwilling to discuss it when Athena mentioned it being depicted in a play during the last years' Festival of Dionysus in Athens.
  • Todd Papy revealed that he planned to make Artemis a playable character in God of War: Ascension. He further stated that the character would have the body of a Sphinx (The head and torso of a human and lower body of a lioness). She was more likely to appear in the multiplayer. However, the idea was scrapped for reasons unknown, and only concept art was made.
  • She is mentioned in God of War (2018) where a Runic Attack for the Blades of Chaos called "Wrath of Artemis" is named after her.
  • Her twin brother Apollo, while mentioned several times, has never made a physical appearance.
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