Artemis and Phoebe

I call upon Cleo and Melpomene, Muses of history and tragedy, to help tell this story of love and heart break. Zeus, thunder god of Olympus, prove these words just and true, of Artemis and her daughter, Phoebe.

            Artemis, chaste goddess of the hunt, daughter of Zeus and Leto, was out in the woods with her hunting party early one morning. Hearing a soft cry that did not belong to anyone or anything who lived in the woods, she sent one of her nymphs to investigate. The nymph came back holding what appeared to be a day old infant who was wrapped in threadbare linen. In some part of her heart, that which was buried deep, a spark of love ignited. The infant girl had captured a piece of the goddess’s heart.

            Naming the girl Phoebe, Artemis adopted the baby as her own. Watching Phoebe grow from a needy infant to an independent young woman passed almost in the blink of an eye for the immortal Artemis. From the time Phoebe was ten years old Artemis had taught her how to fend for herself in the woods mainly through hunting. The young girl was loved deeply by her mother, and those is Artemis’s hunting party became her aunts and older sisters. By the time Phoebe reached the age of 20 she was able to hunt almost as well as her mother.

            At 21 years of age Phoebe asked her mother for a favor. Because she grew up hearing how her mother had taken her in when no one else wanted her the young woman now yearned for a husband and child of her own. Seeing how important this was to her Artemis granted the wish to leave the hunting party, although it was done with a heavy heart. Like all loving and over-protective mothers Artemis only wanted the best for her Phoebe.

            The goddess requested the aid of Aphrodite and Cupid in helping to select a worthy young man who would love and care for her. Aphrodite came up with several impressive young men, but the one who stood out the most was Theron, a worshiper of Artemis herself. He hunted in her name and made yearly offerings to her temple. Knowing they would find no one better fit for her daughter, Artemis gave permission to Cupid, enabling him to shoot Phoebe and Theron with his love-tipped arrows.

            Once the arrows were loosed, both Phoebe and Theron fell in love with the other. They were quickly married and as a wedding present Artemis gave the newlyweds leave to build a house in the woods around Ephesus, the city near where her temple was located. The only thing that she required from the pair was that they take care of the animals she would be sending to them. Knowing how important the job was to her mother Phoebe and Theron both quickly agreed.

            Taking care of the creatures, big and small, took up most of their time. But it wasn’t long before the couple were expecting a child of their own.  Artemis was finding it hard to believe that she was to be a grandmother; it seemed like just yesterday one of her nymphs was carrying the abandoned baby out of the woods. Knowing it had been her daughter’s wish for a husband and child made letting go of her worth the small heartache she still felt.

            Once the child was born Phoebe was taken over in caring for her son. So much so that the animals were starting to become neglected. Artemis paid her daughter a visit, to see her and the new baby. The Goddess of the Hunt was happy to see her daughter and excited to meet her grandson, Alcaeus. But she had a warning for her daughter and son-in-law; they must continue take care of her creatures or tragedy would befall them. Phoebe and Theron were bound by word to Artemis, and to break a promise to a goddess was to invite Discord into their lives.

            Blinded by love of her son, Phoebe did not fulfill her role in taking care of the animals her mother sent to them. Having no choice but to punish her beloved daughter, Artemis went to Phoebe in all her godly glory. In a blinding flash of light Phoebe’s son was transformed into a puppy. Railing angrily at her mother Phoebe unintentionally insulted her mother, daughter of Leto. In a fit of rage Artemis issued a curse on Phoebe and the rest of humankind like her.

            “Daughter of mine, I curse your family, all future generations, and those like you. You will never have the love of a human child. Those of your line will never bare children and only know the love of an animal in its place.”

            So saying, Artemis left the angry Phoebe to her son Aclaeus, her little puppy.  Although she regretted cursing her own daughter, Artemis consoled herself with knowing that, even though she still loved Phoebe, she was not in truth her biological daughter.

            And no matter how persistently they tried, Theron and Phoebe never had another child. They spent the rest of their days taking care of Aclaeus and all the rest of Artemis’s animals. Future generations were barren, just as Artemis had decreed. They found the kind of parent/child love they craved with dogs, cats, and many other varieties of animals.

            Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, still mourns for her daughter and her family.