The Myth of Artemis and Orion

By:

Alexis T.

Carlin

Hannah

Jared

The Myth

The myth of Artemis and Orion is a sad love story between Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt, and Orion, a hunter who is the son of Poseidon. Artemis has vowed to remain a virgin and stay unmarried forever. Orion is chasing a group of nymphs (and being creepy). Before he can catch them, Artemis saves the nymphs by turning them into stars in the sky. Afterward, Artemis and Orion meet. Through their shared love of hunting they become good friends. Apollo, god of the sun and Artemis' brother, does not approve of this friendship, because he thinks that Artemis will fall in love with Orion and marry him despite her vows of maidenhood. So, he hatches a plan to end their friendship once and for all. He knows that Orion - being the son of the god of the seas - has the power to walk in water. One day, while Orion is walking out in the sea, Apollo invites Artemis to the beach. He brags about his marksmanship, and then dares her to prove her hunting ability by hitting a black speck far out at sea, which he knows is Orion. Artemis immediately takes out her bow and arrow and shoots the speck, which disappears. Then, however, the waves carry Orion's body to the shore, in front of Artemis. She turns to her brother and weeps, knowing she has fallen for his horrible scheme to kill Orion. She puts his body in the skies, among the stars. To this day he remains there, with his dog Sirius following him and the nymphs ahead of him.

H.O.M.E. Elements

History - Artemis, the moon goddess, was sister to Apollo, the sun god. She was very beautiful and skilled. Many men tried to become her suitor, however she had taken a vow to never marry. Artemis stalked game in the woods with a party of nymphs, the Pleiades. The nymphs were hunting one day when a hunter named Orion found them and saw their faces. They ran, and he chased them. However, before he could touch them Artemis turned them into a constellation in the sky to protect them. Later, Artemis and Orion became friends. This made Artemis' brother Apollo worried, since he thought Artemis might break her vows and marry Orion. He devised a plan to deal with Orion. While Orion was wading far out at sea, Apollo pointed at the barely-visible Orion and challenged Artemis to shoot him. Not knowing that it was Orion, Artemis immediately shot him with her bow. Then, however, the waves carried Orion's body to shore and Artemis saw what she had done. Distraught, she turned his body into a constellation, and turned his dog Sirius into a constellation as well.

Origin - This myth explains how the Sirius, Orion, and Pleiades constellations came to be: that they were placed in the sky by Artemis.

Moral - The moral of this myth is to not make rash decisions. Apollo makes a rash decision by arbitrarily deciding that Artemis is in love with Orion and plans to marry him, even though there is no evidence that they are anything more than friends. Artemis also makes a rash decision by agreeing to shoot a random object in the ocean without knowing what it is first. Both of these quick decisions have serious consequences.

Entertainment - This myth is entertaining because it is a story of the trickery and cunning of the gods. As well, it has foreshadowing because the reader knows about Apollo's plot before Artemis is drawn into it.

The Myth of

Artemis and Orion

The Characters in the Myth: Orion

There are multiple conflicting ancient writings about Orion, and little is known about him at all. This follows the narrative consistent with the myth of Artemis and Orion.

Orion was an ancient Greek demigod, the son of Poseidon, god of the seas, and the human Euryale (daughter of the King of Crete). He was a hunter, and had a pet dog named Sirius. He was also described as being enormously tall. After he was killed by Artemis, he was turned into a constellation in the sky, with his dog Sirius turned into a star behind him and him facing the Pleiades star cluster.

The Characters in the Myth: Artemis

Artemis, with the Roman name Diana, was the Greek goddess of the moon, the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, and virginity. She was the daughter of Zeus and Leto. Her twin brother was Apollo, god of the sun and music. Artemis was tall and strong and very beautiful, but she would not marry because she wanted to live free with her nymphs. She carried a bow and arrows, representing that she was the goddess of hunting. A shining crescent on her head marked her as the goddess of the moon.

As a child, Artemis asked her father, Zeus, for her to remain an eternal virgin and therefore become one of the three virgin goddesses in Greek mythology. As a beautiful virgin, she attracted the interest of many gods and men, but she had taken a vow to never marry.

Usually, Artemis by nymphs and oceanids (sea nymphs). Artemis was always armed with her bow and arrows, which had been made by Hephaestus. She loved to hunt with arrows dipped in poison. Out of many animals sacred to her, the bear was the most important.