Artemis at Brauron: The Woman’s Goddess

Artemis Brauron Sactuary Temple Site. Photo by Meloney Hudson

Many years ago, Artemis was the Greek deity with whom I most identified while reading The Goddesses Within Every Woman by Jean Shinoda Bolen.  Artemis is sovereign, independent, wild, and lover of forests and fields. Learning about her powerful attributes helped me honor my own wild, nature-loving and independent spirit.

So recently, while planning my vacation to Greece, I stumbled upon the existence of the archeological site of the Artemis Brauronia Sanctuary, one of the most important religious sites for women in ancient Greece, located near a seaside town about 20 miles from downtown Athens. I knew I must see it.

GETTING THERE:  MY WALK TO THE MUSEUM AND TEMPLE

“Museum. Ten-minute walk,” the bus driver said in broken English as he dropped me off a desolate intersection and pointed up the rural road outside of the little town of Artemida, in the Attica region on the east coast of Greece. I paid him 10 Euro to take me beyond the end of his line to get me closer to the Artemis temple site and museum.

It had taken me 1 ½ hours to travel from downtown Athens by metro and bus to get this far, and a short walk in 90-degree heat wasn’t about to stop me now. In fact, the hike past lush fields with the sounds of cicadas set the scene of timelessness communion with my favorite goddess. 

Indeed, in 10 minutes I approached the driveway that led to the Artemis Temple site and museum. Walking toward the complex, I entered the spirit of the land and the worshippers who honored Artemis, the Goddess of Nature, for hundreds of years.

ARTEMIS: THE WOMAN’S GODDESS

Artemis figures, dating 5th through 4th century BCE, in the Artemis Brauron Museum collection. Photos by Meloney Hudson

Artemis is the Goddess of Wild Nature, Life and Fertility, the skilled huntress, often depicted with a bow and accompanied by a deer, her most sacred animal and the symbol of her beauty, strength and swiftness. Artemis is an independent goddess who never coupled with a god and never had children of her own.

Artemis is also the Protector of Women, Children, Marriage and Safe Births. She guides women through their lives and prepares children, especially girls, for their futures as adults and parents. It was believed Artemis presided over the transitions of the feminine body, from before puberty to the first childbirth. She was a woman’s goddess, and most of her followers were female.

As a nature lover and women’s empowerment advocate, Artemis spirit overflows within me!

ARTEMIS MUSEUM AND TEMPLE

I arrived at the Artemis Museum, the gateway to the temple site, and was delighted by its sizable collection of exquisite relics that were excavated from these grounds. Display after display of ancient artifacts and vivid historical notes gave me an understanding of Artemis’ mythology, the love of her devotees, and their religious practices. I absorbed the information and snapped as many photos as I could, and I now wish I’d taken more.

Now, eager to see the sanctuary, I walked the treelined stone path to the site, about 600 feet away. Around the bend, rising from a peaceful, grassy opening, stood the ancient columns of a small, yet majestic temple. I could begin to feel the spirit of centuries of worshippers who walked this ground to pay homage to the Goddess and ask for guidance and protection. Here, generations of young girls adored the Artemis and learned her ways to be in the world.

Noticing the distant hills, I imagined Artemis roaming them with her dog and deer companions. My love of nature stirred within me and I felt a peaceful connection with the independent Goddess of the Woods.

Artemis, thank you for guiding me through my life. Thank you for nurturing my body and spirit and accompanying me all along. Thank you for helping me appreciate my own strength and all aspects of myself.

THE TEMPLE GROUNDS

Artemis Sanctuary Grounds. Photos by Meloney Hudson

For centuries, worshippers traveled to this site to honor the Goddess Artemis. Archeological evidence shows the location was a place of worship as early as 9th century BCE. The Artemis Brauron Sanctuary complex was built around the mid-6th century (600-501 BCE) and flourished until about 300 BCE when it was abandoned, likely due to the flooding of a nearby river.

Because of Artemis’ association with nature, she was often worshipped in mountains and wooded areas. Thus, this temple’s location, far away from the din of the city, close to the Aegean Sea, and surrounded by hills and trees, was ideal for worship.

Archeologists excavated the temple ruins between 1942 and the mid-1960s. Today, a modern, metal walkway surrounds the site to guide visitors and preserve the original stones. I slowly ambled around the structure, imagining I was in the same space that ancestral sisters walked long ago.

The marble columns of the stoa stand strongly and line the back of a central courtyard. A stone foundation outlines the greater temple area, which includes smaller rooms, a small temple, and the priestess’ residences. Stone pedestals for offerings and other platforms dot the site. At one time, some of the original temple walls were ornately decorated, and sculptures of Artemis stood within the central worship space and other locations of the sanctuary. Today these spaces are open to the sun and the decorative relics live in the Museum.  

Near the temple foundation is a staircase cut from the rock that leads to a stone terrace that overlooks the grounds. What rituals were performed here? Did teachers speak here? I stood there in awe, knowing it was the same rock Artemis’ followers stood on nearly 3,000 years ago.  

The foundation of the tomb of Priestess Iphigeneia, a mythical figure honored as the “foundress” of the sanctuary, is in a rocky area nearby. Iphigeneia is often worshipped alongside Artemis.   

A sacred spring bubbles a few steps away from the temple, and it was here that many votive offerings, such as mirrors and vases, have been found. Today, water is still retrieved from the spring.

Though not yet discovered, inscriptions indicate the temple grounds also included a gymnasium, a palaestra (a field for playing sports), horse stables and apartments.

Wandering through this sacred site, I could almost hear the echoes of the rituals and prayers to Artemis.

Thank you, Artemis. I honor your powers and presence.

GIRLS IN TRAINING

Artifacts at the Artemis Brauron Museum. Photos by Meloney Hudson

Artemis at Brauron was a woman’s goddess who empowered and protected girls. At this temple site, Athenian girls, ages of 5 to 10, mostly from upper-class families, received special teachings to help them prepare for womanhood. For one year the girls lived at the temple to learn sacred practices and earthly skills for successful adolescence and marriage. This special year was considered a period of ritual ‘wildness' before puberty. Keep in mind that the average age of marriage for Athenian girls was 14 to 18 (the average age of men was 30), and wives had very little freedom and few rights, so this was a gift of precious freedom and privilege.  

Temple priestess taught the girls Artemis-honoring songs, prayers and dances. They also trained them to weave, sew, cook and perform other domestic skills, and guided the development of their social graces.

Since Artemis oversees the transitions of the female body, I wonder if the priestesses taught the mysteries of menstruation, and if so, what did they teach?

And, also, did they offer sex education? Artemis was a virgin goddess who represented chastity, and thus girls were taught to remain virgins until marriage to stay in the goddess’s favor. But what was said about sexual relations to prepare for marriage? And if a girl partook in premarital sex, what would Artemis do?

After a year of training at the temple, the girls were ready for their initiation.

FESTIVAL & INITIATION EVENTS

Images capturing ritual and dancing, from Artemis Brauron Museum. Photos by Meloney Hudson

Great festivals were celebrated at the Temple. Every five years, a procession of worshippers walked from Athens to Brauron, a two-day journey, to worship Artemis and partake is a religious festival. In these and other sacred events, there were horse races, athletic events and musical contests. Girls played games and reenacted Artemis’ mythical hunt, called The Sacred Chase.

The most significant ritual at the temple was called Arkteia, an initiation ritual that symbolized a girl’s transformation from childhood into adolescence and her commitment to serve Artemis. In this ritual, girls were called "arktoi" or little she-bears for Artemis. Dressed in short, saffron-yellow dresses to symbolize the bear skins, the girls danced in slow, solemn, bear-like movements to the music of double flute, guitar and choral hymns. The girls carried baskets of figs and presented Artemis with offerings of dolls and other items. In a high point, the girls shed their dresses, possibly to total nudity, to symbolize the last phase of Arkteia, before the girls’ entry into adolescence, to show their readiness for marriage.

We can only imagine the ritual scene; perhaps the space was illuminated by candles and smokey with incense. Maybe they played under the moon. We wonder if proud parents witnessed their daughters’ initiations.     

No doubt, the initiation filled these young devotees with power, built their confidence and steeled their womanly gifts. They knew Artemis would always be there for them to guide and strengthen them. Now, they were ready to marry, have babies and bring up their daughters to become worshippers of Artemis. Perhaps they hoped their own daughters would live for a year at the Artemis Temple at Brauron.

VOTIVE OFFERINGS: GIFTS OF ADORATION

Votive offering items found at Brauron temple site. Photos by Meloney Hudson

The treasures excavated from the grounds, and now living in the museum, help piece together the story of this sacred site. The quantity and quality of votive offerings indicate the devotees’ deep love for the Goddess. Vases, sculptures, mirrors, and jewelry boxes, and tools such as spindles, spindle whorls, loom weights, and so much more have been found in abundant numbers on the temple grounds and in the sacred spring.

Cloth and clothing items were gifts to Priestess Iphigeneia from mothers of safe births or to represent mothers who died during childbirth.

Now preserved in the Museum, these beautiful gifts continue to resonate with the love and devotion of Artemis followers from time immemorial.   

Clay doll, end of 5th to early 4th century BCE

Many plagons, or dolls, made of clay or marble and with no hands or feet, were also given as offerings, likely by the girls during their Arkteia ritual to symbolize their departure from childhood to entry into womanhood.  

Marble statue of a girl, 300 - 275 BCE

Also found at the site were several statues of children. During the late 4th century BCE, parents offered sculptures that represented their children to thank the Goddess for their child’s safe birth or recovery from illness.   

ARTEMIS BACK HOME

Artemis (on right) with other deities. Photos by Meloney Hudson

The magic of the Artemis Brauron temple, and Goddess Artemis herself, remain vividly within me. I feel that I was initiated by Artemis. Having learned about her dedication to girls and women and the adoration of her followers, my love and respect for Artemis has grown.  My dream is that Artemis becomes more present into today’s world to empower women and help girls learn to love and appreciate the feminine aspects so we may all be be happy and whole women.

Thank you, Artemis!  I am so grateful to know you. I honor you and invite you to infuse us with your love, power and wisdom.