Who is Artemis?



Artemis of Ephesus

 Artemis was a goddess and one of the forms of Kybele, the main goddess of the anatolian societies. These societies' first holy power was a goddess, not a god, due to their matriarchial social structure.

Artemis was pretty powerful in around 2000 BJ. She was considered responsible for any sudden deaths of women. (Her brother Apollo was responsible for the sudden death of men). She was also liable for deaths during labor.
But after that, patriarchial society has begun to develop and Artemis had become to be defined with words like: "virgin", "most beautiful goddess" etc. These were more acceptable for men, the new rulers of the world. However, Artemis did not lose his whole power until the invasion of Christianity. Even after that, she continued to live as Mother Mary.