falanx:

When Artemis comes it is with fire. Phaesphoria travels as if on the Sun chariot, holding soft wood wrapped in bark, smoke streaming from between Her fingers. She touches girls with burning fingers, scorching streaks into their hair. They dance in the light of a thousand bonfires, and they are fire-keepers, and they shelter beneath hemlocks, pine sap sticky on their fingers.

When She comes it is with fire. The scent of smoke precedes the scent of blood and steel; the deer, felled swiftly, roasts on a spit. She teaches girls how to keep warm with only flint and steel, only a magnifying glass, only one match. She blesses the plants of the forests with tinder, tells Her people that they will burn, and burn easily. She holds fire in her palms. She holds power in her fingertips. She holds life in her hands. 

In the winter, Artemis etches smoke onto the sky, delighting in the way the sun sparks over frost. In the winter, Artemis tracks down rabbits in the deep snow, and eats them hot from the fire. In the winter, Artemis blesses the houses of the pious with the fire they need for survival. 

In the spring, Artemis burns away the mud, relishing firm ground beneath Her running feet. Artemis-Hekate lights the way to the forest’s most prosperous season. Artemis hunts and kills and always She burns, in the light of each and every sunrise.

kitienen:

Artemis Ephesia, also known as Artemis of Ephesus/Ephesos, is a form of Artemis that was worshiped in the city of Ephesos in Ionia, now modern-day Turkey. Her temple in Ephesos was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and her cult one of the most widespread. The Ephesians always considered her unique to the city, but there were shrines and temples to Ephesia in many other places throughout Asia Minor and beyond.

Callimachus in his Hymn to Artemis attributed the Temple of Artemis to the Amazons. No matter who created it, it was built and destroyed three times, the third temple being the one designated as one of the Wonders of the World. Today only ruins remain at the original site.

Model of the Temple of Artemis as seen in Istanbul, Turkey

It is likely that the cult of Artemis Ephesia stemmed from that of a previous local goddess, which made Ephesia unique compared to the typical face of Artemis, sister of Apollon. The original cult statue of Artemis Ephesia was made of wood, which has not survived. What has survived are marble copies, mostly copies from the Roman period. However, you can see that her iconography is rather archaic and was influenced greatly from the pre-Hellenic cult that existed in the same area. That being said, most of the worshipers of Ephesia did not necessarily consider her to be a separate goddess as modern practitioners and scholars tend to.

Artemis Ephesia is shown standing straight up, as if a pillar, with her feet pointing outwards from the bottom and he arms outstretched. She wears the mural crown representing the city walls of Ephesos on her head. She is covered in animals, including bees, bulls, lions, griffins, and stags as well as other animals.

The most defining aspect of her is the multiple protuberances on her body. They have been theorized to represent multiple breasts, drops of amber, bull testicles, eggs, even beehives, but the true nature of them is unknown. Their likely representations as icons of her fertility is apparent, but the exact origin and identity of the objects is unknown at this time.

Artemis from Ephesos
Roman marble copy of Greek original
Vatican Museum

As for her character, Artemis Ephesia is a goddess mainly of fertility and the earth, representing the nourishing aspects of nature. She is greatly associated with animals, particularly bees, which were a symbol of the city itself. She was savior and mother to those who lived in Ephesos and to those who worshiped her. 

Her cult existed several hundred years into the growth of Christianity, to the point where Ephesos and the goddess of that city is mentioned within the Bible. The third temple was destroyed in 262 CE by the Goths, and many in the city turned to Christianity rather than rebuild the temple for a fourth time.

kitienen:

cythereancutie:

kitienen:

Have your lunar Artemis if you want. Just don’t misrepresent where it comes from.

Goddamn I’m sick of this.

YES LIKE it is 100% ok to worship a lunar, later period Artemis. Just don’t equate her to all Artemis.

Totally! The moon stuff might not be my jam, but it’s historically legit so people should go for it if they feel it.

However, they shouldn’t say it comes from earlier than it does, and they shouldn’t say that it applies to all polytheists who worship Artemis. Like that’s when I get out my sources that start talking about how that wasn’t the original character of Artemis. Because people use the evidence they have in favor of it to try to force it on everyone else, so then I have to do damage control so that the people who don’t feel that don’t feel invalidated by those statements.

It’s not cool. Live and let live, man.

thepaganstudygrouppage:

I’m a Revivalist style Hellenic, so what I’d do isn’t necessarily what other people would do, but I do maintain an altar to our lady Artemis! Creating an altar for a Greek deity is generally a matter of assembling a center focus (such as a statue, candle, plate, etc) which is representative of the deity, then surrounding it with either (or some, or all) offerings or decorations that are pleasing to the deity, a place to put the offerings, or tools and items for use in ritual specific to that deity (such as khernips or blessed water, usually things to cleanse the self or space). It can be quite a freeform exercise. For Artemis specifically, you’d take into account her preferences and priorities: She’s big on nature, and would like ethically sourced herbs and plants; her sacred animals were the bear and the stag, so iconography like antler-shaped candle holders, or a soft false bear pelt as an altar cloth, would be totally appropriate. Here is a wonderful list of offerings to Artemis, and more of her favorites and symbols can be found on her Theoi page.

As for worship, each devotee or polytheist has their own way! If you’re looking to start worshipping or respecting Artemis in a Hellenic Polytheist way, here is a great guide from pomegranateandivy with tons of links on how to get started. If you’re interested in worshipping her in a neo-Wiccan, solitary, or other contexts, you may like to check in with some of her followers.

Personally, my altar to Artemis is on top of a natural wood dresser, with a matching rough natural wood box (that I’ve pentagrammed up… personal practice!), and two silver candle holders in the shape of roots/antlers. There’s also a very small glass jar on the left for tealight candles when I’m doing devotionals or giving offerings (or anything that doesn’t require the whole shebang to be lit). If I have an offering to her that can’t go directly on the wood/dresser, I have a small bowl that I place right in front of the box. I had a much more decorated altar before this one, but for some reason, the minimalism feels pretty good.

Ash

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