Parents: Zeus and Leto

Birth: Artemis was born on the island of Delos, one day before her twin brother Apollo. According to myth, she then helped her mother Leto deliver Apollo, making her a protector of childbirth from the very start.

Story: Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, and the moon. She roamed the forests with her band of loyal huntresses, all of whom swore to remain unmarried. Artemis was fiercely independent and a deadly archer — any mortal who disrespected her or her huntresses faced terrible punishment. When the hunter Actaeon accidentally stumbled upon her bathing, she transformed him into a stag, and his own hunting dogs tore him apart. Despite her fierce nature, she was a protector of young women and children.

Artemis and Orion: Orion was a giant huntsman and one of the few men Artemis ever cared for. Some say they were close friends, others say she loved him. Apollo, protective of his twin sister's vow to remain unmarried, grew jealous of their friendship. He tricked Artemis into killing Orion by challenging her to hit a distant target bobbing in the sea — which was actually Orion's head as he swam. When Artemis realized what she had done, she was devastated and placed Orion among the stars as a constellation, where he hunts across the night sky for eternity.

Artemis and Niobe: Queen Niobe of Thebes boasted that she was greater than the goddess Leto because she had fourteen children while Leto had only two. This insult to their mother enraged Apollo and Artemis. Apollo killed all seven of Niobe's sons with his arrows, and Artemis killed all seven of her daughters. Niobe wept so much that Zeus finally turned her into a rock, but even as stone, she continued to weep — her tears forming a stream that flows to this day.

Symbol: Bow and arrow, deer, crescent moon, cypress tree.

Represents: The hunt, the wilderness, the moon, and the protection of young women.