Ask for the legends of Artemis, Orion and Apollo, the Greek moon goddesses.

Artemis is the goddess of the moon and the hunt in Greek mythology, and one of the twelve gods of Mount Olympus. In various well-known myths, the moon is always associated with beautiful goddesses, whether it is Artemis in Greek mythology, Diana in Roman mythology, or Diana in Chinese mythology. Chang'e and Princess Kaguya of Japan. Even in the computer age, Blizzard also set the earliest belief of the night elves as the moon goddess Ellen in epic games such as Warcraft. This is naturally inseparable from the feminine attribute of the moon appearing at night. Of course, today I won’t talk about Chang’e, let alone Warcraft, but let’s go back to Artemis.

Hard-working birth:

She is the elder sister of the twins of Zeus and Leto. In comparison, her younger brother, the sun god Apollo, is more famous (it is also said that Apollo Luo is the older brother and Artemis is the younger sister). But the journey of these two siblings, who represent glory day and night, into this world was full of hardships and suffering. Leto is Zeus's cousin and one of Zeus's many lovers. Being the lover of the main god is not necessarily a bad thing, but in Greek mythology, the jealousy of Hera, the queen of the palace, and the lust of King Zeus are the same. Famous, so Leto's childbirth not only suffered physical pain, but also tasted mental torture. Hera, overcome with rage and vinegar, did not allow Leto to give birth on the earth, and sent a giant snake to pursue her. My aunt Tai Leto traveled through mountains and rivers, climbed over mountains and ridges, and finally came to a holy land. Poseidon, the god of the sea, did not know whether out of mercy or under the instruction of Zeus, he specially created a small island in the ocean, Delos (" (meaning "appear"), geologists may be able to explain this miracle from the perspective of crustal changes or volcanic eruptions. Of course, there is another theory that Zeus personally fixed an island floating in the ocean. Anyway, my aunt Leto gave birth to a pair of children under a small palm tree on this small island. Legend has it that the island was so bright at that time that it seemed as if the world's first atomic bomb had been detonated. Delos and the palm tree later became symbols of Apollo.

This legend is full of common symbolic meanings in mythology and can be used as an introductory textbook for finding realistic meanings in mythology. The main symbolic meanings are: 1. It is difficult for light to break through darkness. I will not extend the story of the goddess hiding in the cave in Japanese mythology here. two. The sun rises from the sea. Of course, modern science has told us that the earth revolves around the sun, that the sun is not hidden underground at night, etc., but for the working people of Greece N years ago, what they saw every day was the sun rising from the sea. three. Greek worship of the sea. The ocean has always played an important role in the history of Greek civilization, so it also has an extraordinary status in Greek mythology. Zeus, the head of the third leadership team of the Greek main god, was also born on an island.

Cruel Beauty:

As the moon goddess, Artemis's standard equipment is a white robe, a crescent moon crown, and holding a torch. As the goddess of hunting, Artemis holds a silver bow, carries a quiver on her back, drives a beautiful deer cart pulled by a golden deer, and has a large team of hunting dogs in front and behind to clear the way. She likes to hunt stags, and sometimes shoots some wild boars and unlucky animals. man. . .

Image of the Hunting God:

Image of the Moon God: (Sweaty picture...)

According to the testimony of psychologist F, in childhood Experience has a huge impact on a person's character, and Artemis is an excellent example of this idea. As a child of a concubine, when she was young, she witnessed her mother being brutally persecuted by the first wife and living in a broken family. This greatly distorted the young mind of this innocent girl and filled her heart with distrust of men. Fear of love and distaste for marriage.

When she was three years old, her father Zeus wanted to give her a gift, and Artemis chose eternal chastity, a quiver of arrows, and a quiet forest away from mortals. So she became one of the three virgin goddesses of Mount Olympus and the protector of virgin chastity and women's fertility.

Artemis is clean and self-sufficient, and has a fresh and refined natural beauty. In addition, she is as good at archery as her younger brother Apollo, so she is somewhat proud of herself. She especially can't stand others offending her. At the same time, because of her lack of love for men She has a good impression of her, so any man who dares to offend her will end up in a miserable state.

Poseidon, the god of the sea, had a pair of twin sons named Othos and Ephealtes. They boldly pursued her and Hera respectively, so she turned into a deer and ran between them. , two idiots threw spears at the same time, and ended up poking a big hole in each other's chest. This plot has become a classic plot that appears in various film and television works to entertain the public. As the times progress, spear throwing has become bullets, laser beams or magic balls. . .

As the goddess of hunting, Artemis ran and hunted in the mountains and fields all day long. She was a healthy and athletic woman. However, she would sweat when she exercised, and she had to take a shower when she sweated. In that era, there were no 6-dollar clothes. There are no public bathhouses in the world, and there are no large bathhouses for saunas and SPAs. Therefore, rivers, lakes, seas, ponds and streams have become bathhouses for goddesses to remove dirt and relieve fatigue. However, goddesses, both Chinese and foreign, do not pay attention to self-protection, so they are not included in Chinese and foreign mythology. The tragedies caused by intentional or unintentional voyeurism can be seen.

The goddess Athena was seen by Tiresias while taking a bath, and the goddess turned him blind.

Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was caught by Erymantus while taking a bath, and the goddess also turned him blind.

The logic of the above two goddesses is: If you see me, I will make it impossible for you to look at women again.

The punishment of Artemis was more innovative. Sipritus saw her take a bath and was turned into a woman.

The logic is: if you see me, I will simply let you look at the woman as much as you want.

Of course, what happened to Siprytus was nothing compared to Actaeon. . .

On a sunny day, the young hunter Actaeon, the grandson of Cadmus, called his friends and ran into the mountains to hunt. Of course, the young hunter The hunter had no idea of ??the fate that awaited him. Pascal said that man's misfortune comes from his unwillingness to stay in his own room, and it is absolutely true. Near noon, the sun chariot driven by Apollo was scorching the earth. The hunters had harvested a lot in the morning. Actaeon asked everyone to rest for a while under the shade of the trees, while he wandered around, turning around. Soon he found a cave. Because he didn't know the reason why curiosity killed a cat, he bravely got into it and walked towards the ending that fate had arranged for him. . .

It turns out that this cave was originally the holy place of Artemis. At this time, the goddess happened to have returned from hunting and was soaking in the clear spring water to wash away the dust and rest. Actaeon, who broke in rashly, naturally encountered the same high-decibel sound wave attack that all men who broke into women's bathrooms throughout the ages encountered. The little fairies around him were busy covering the key parts of the moon goddess, but to no avail, because the goddess's The figure is really tall and straight. Actaeon, the lucky guy, didn't know whether he was frightened, dumbfounded, or suffering from nosebleeds and anemia. In short, he stood there and watched endlessly. The flames of shame and anger burned the goddess's delicate face. She wished she could immediately nail him to the wall like Aizen with silver arrows. Unfortunately, the weapon was not at hand, so she poured spring water on Actaeon and said something in her mouth. I couldn't help but curse, to the effect that you, shameless person, dare to watch me take a shower and I will punish you on behalf of the moon. Actaeon, who was splashed with bathwater, turned into a stag. Before he realized this, he turned around and ran out of the cave. He didn't know whether he wanted to show off his good fortune today or go to the major media to break the news. . But as soon as he ran out of the cave, his greedy hunting dogs pounced on him. He shouted: "I am your master Actaeon!" But he could no longer speak human language, and the hunting dogs naturally ignored him. It was really a great irony for the hunter to resist and tear him into pieces cleanly, and to be killed by his own hunting dogs as prey.

Whether it is intentional or not, seeing a lady taking a bath is always rude to a beautiful woman, and she must be punished. Greek mythology does a good job in respecting women. Compared with the punishment of becoming blind, transsexual and turning into a corpse in Greek mythology, The public opinion orientation of Chinese mythology is a bit weird. The famous myth widely circulated in China is the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. It is a negative example. Comrade Cowherd had the hooligan behavior of peeping at the fairy bathing, and the criminal plot of stealing the fairy's clothes later. Instead of being punished, he married the Weaver Girl. . This is the logic of ancient China: if you see it, you have to take responsibility. . . So whenever I think about Chinese Valentine's Day and it's a love story caused by voyeurism, I ORZ. . .

In Greek mythology, even if a woman is a god, she is always superior to others; however, in Chinese mythology, even if she is an immortal, as a woman, she is always lower than a man. I won’t comment on which kind of thinking is more positive.

Back to the topic, Artemis's silver arrows were not only shot by men who dared to offend her, but also to protect the dignity of her mother.

As mentioned before, Artemis’s mother Leto suffered a lot when giving birth to these children. Therefore, Apollo and Artemis particularly loved their mother. Anyone who dares to offend Leto will be severely punished by both siblings. The most famous and cruel example is the punishment of Niobe, Queen of Thebes.

I am lazy, I will tell this story later. . .

Of course, just as the moon has a new moon and a full moon, Artemis has a cold-blooded and cruel side as well as a warm and watery side, otherwise I would not be too lazy to be the first to pick her out and analyze it. . . The most touching moment about her in Greek mythology is the scene in the Battle of Troy when she went back to cry to her father Zeus after being slapped by Hera. She, who usually looks resolute, also cried and provoked after being hurt. The softer side of people's love, cuteness. . . So I hated Hera even more. . .

The love tragedy of the iceberg beauty:

On a quiet night, the cold moonlight shines like water on the vast land, and the nightingale sings softly in the dark forest, so suitable for talking about love. It would be too disgraceful if bloody dramas such as silencing or massacre were always performed in the environment and atmosphere of love. Moreover, neither gods nor humans can escape the tricks of love and fate. Artemis also has her own love story, and it's a very tactful and touching story.

The first love story directly related to Artemis in Greek mythology is the legend of Orion.

Poseidon, the god of the sea, had a son named Orion. Orion was born like his father, tall and strong, and could ride on the waves on the vast sea. But like his father, he was not satisfied with living in a palace under the sea. Instead, he liked to take his beloved hunting dog Silius to climb rocks and hunt in the mountains and forests. Silius was very loyal to his master and very brave. He always rushed to the front when hunting and always stood in front of Orion when encountering wild beasts. During the hunting process, Orion often met Artemis, the goddess of hunting who had the same hobby. As the saying goes, heroes cherish heroes, they were quickly attracted by each other's heroic appearance and superb hunting skills. Gradually, they often walked together in the mountains and hunted in the jungle, and became good friends. One theory is that Artemis even wanted to marry him.

But I don’t know whether it’s because of the sister-in-law plot or other reasons, but Artemis’s brother, the sun god Apollo, doesn’t like Olegon, a rough guy, and doesn’t want him to do anything. My own brother-in-law. But he also understood that Artemis had a stubborn character, and Akatsuki could not change her mind with reason or emotion, so he decided to make a conspiracy to get rid of this annoying man.

One day, Orion the Orion was walking on the waves in the sea as usual, preparing to go ashore to hunt. His whole body was submerged in the water, with only his head above the water.

At this time, Apollo began to flatter Artemis, "Sister, I have long known that your archery skills are unmatched in the world. How about showing me your skills today?" How did Artemis know what was hidden behind his smiling compliments? With such a vicious heart, he naturally agreed after hearing the good words, "Okay, what did you say to shoot?" "Look, there is a small black spot on the sea over there, like a rock, let's use it as a target." Apollo knew that his sister's eyesight was not as good as his own, and he couldn't see what the black spot was. Before Apollo finished speaking, Artemis took an arrow in her hand and started shooting. A sharp silver arrow accurately hit the small black dot. "Sister, your reputation as a marksman is indeed well-deserved. Brother, I admire you so much." After saying that, Apollo quietly left with a vicious smile. Artemis was so proud that she flew to the sea to see the target. But what was waiting for her there was Orion, who was shot in the head with an arrow. He was floating quietly on the sea. He died of anger before he could say goodbye to his sweetheart.

The person she loved the most died unexpectedly under an arrow shot by her own hands. Artemis couldn't bear such a blow and fainted. When Silius, the hound, heard the news of his master's tragic death, he wailed all night with grief, and soon went on a hunger strike and died.

In despair, Artemis cried all day long. She asked her father Zeus to raise Orion to the sky, hoping that she could see her sweetheart at any time by riding a silver carriage in the sky. Zeus, who was also saddened by this tragedy, accepted her request and turned Orion into the constellation Orion in the sky. They could not always stay together while alive, but after death, he was finally with his sweetheart, the moon goddess Artemis, forever. Orion's beloved dog Silius also won the sympathy of Zeus with his loyalty, and was promoted to heaven to continue to accompany his master. This is the constellation Canis Major. In order not to make it lonely, Zeus specially found a partner for it - Canis Minor. Zeus knew that Orion loved hunting the most during his lifetime, so he placed a small prey next to him - Lepus.

This sad story is indeed very touching, but like many Greek myths, there is a less tear-jerking version of the Orion legend. The plot of this story is like an eight o'clock romance drama. Just as boring, full of jealousy, triangles, and intrigues. . .

This is Orion, but in this legend he is very proud. The moon goddess Artemis saw his heroic archery while hunting a deer, and the hunting goddess became the prey of love. Later, the goddess of dawn also took a fancy to him and asked Orion to be her male companion at the banquet, and he agreed. This aroused the dissatisfaction of the Moon God, but the proud Orion was unwilling to admit his mistake, so the Moon God ignored him (another legend says that the jealous Artemis shot Orion), and Orion was still very proud. , because the two goddesses fell in love with him at the same time, so he became more and more arrogant.

One day, Oleon spoke ill of Hera in front of Hera's maid, so Hera sent a scorpion (this scorpion later became Scorpio, rising next to Orion in the starry sky) Never meet again) stung Orion to death.

In fact, the moon god who still loved him deeply was very sad when she found out, but Orion could not survive, so the moon god asked her father Zeus to raise Orion to a constellation forever. Shine, and Orion becomes Orion.

Another love story related to the moon goddess in Greek mythology is the story of Endymion, but did this story happen to Artemis or another moon goddess? There are differences in different versions of the legend about Selene, and in fact the two goddesses were often confused in late Greek mythology.

First of all, let’s introduce the four moon goddesses in Greek mythology and Roman mythology, which have many similarities with Greek mythology.

Greek Mythology:

Artemis: Already introduced. . .

Selene: The moon goddess who represents the full moon in Greek mythology. It was introduced to Greece very early. Hesiod's "Theogony" said that she was born of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and Aeschylus said that she was the daughter of the sun god Helios (this sun god was not Apollo).

Others say she was the wife of Helios. She has wings on her back and a golden crown on her head. She often rides a gorgeous silver carriage and flies through the sky at night. She fell in love with Zeus and gave birth to a daughter.

In many poems, Artemis (representing the crescent moon, the girl, the image of the goddess on the ground), Selene (representing the full moon, the young woman, the image of the goddess in the air), Hecate (representing the full moon, the young woman, the image of the goddess in the air), Hecate (representing the moon, the old woman, and the goddess beneath the ground) is often depicted as a trinity of gods. (By the way, Hecate is the goddess of the underworld who is responsible for ghosts, witchcraft, and magic.)

The moon gods in Roman mythology are the following two:

Diana ): Not much different from Artemis in Greek mythology.

Luna: Similar to Selene in Greek mythology, she loves oak trees very much and always carries her oak staff with her when hunting. People also worshiped her as the goddess of the oak tree. In ancient Greece, when people worshiped the moon goddess, they would light oak torches. Later, it changed to offering cookies and lighting candles. Finally, it evolved into a way to celebrate children's birthdays - putting candles on the cake at night, blowing them out and making wishes. The Moon Goddess will ensure that wishes come true. To this day, people still celebrate birthdays this way. When you make a wish and blow out the candles on your birthday cake today, do you know that you are making a wish to the Moon Goddess? (Thinking: Beautiful Moon God, please let me find a lover like you~~)

Having introduced these goddesses respectively, let’s talk about the legend of Endymion. Although This legend is associated with Selene in most versions, but I am biased and want to believe it is related to Artemis. Please forgive my slight preference~~

A certain year and a certain time One night on a certain day of the month, Endymion, a beautiful young man who had not returned home all night, was sleeping in the wilderness of Mount Latmos. The moon god drove a silver chariot through the night sky and saw the sleeping beautiful young man, Endymion. Her otherworldly beauty touched her lonely heart. (Being handsome is really king... you can seduce the goddess while sleeping...) From then on, every night the moon god would intentionally or unintentionally "pass by" the sleeping Endymion, look at his handsome face, and admire He slept quietly and secretly kissed his cheek. (This kid can really fall asleep...) Moon Goddess' unrequited love gradually affected her job. Zeus was very troubled, but Endymion seemed to like sleeping very much. He wanted to To maintain his youth forever, he actually planned to exchange eternal sleep for eternal life. Zeus was happy to fulfill his wish, so Endymion slept all the time. (Another legend is that Endymion had an affair with Hera, and Zeus punished him to sleep forever...) In short, Endymion has been sleeping in a cave on Mount Latmos ever since. And the moon god often deviates from his own track while patrolling the sky at night to see the beloved who is always immersed in sweet dreams.

This story is one of my favorite Greek legends. The wordless love, the wordless sorrow, the wordless melancholy, everything is in words, just like the water-like moonlight gently shining on my heart. In the quiet night, the earth nourishes all things that were burned by Apollo's solar chariot during the day. The goddess of hunting, who looks noble and indifferent, cannot escape the golden arrow shot by the God of Love, and becomes the prey of love. The working people of ancient Greece probably also liked this story very much. In some legends, Endymion and the moon god gave birth to 50 daughters or 50 sons or 50 daughters and 50 sons, which reflects the good wishes of the Greek people. . But I am very reluctant to accept this blasphemous legend, but I still hope that she can get her own happiness.