Birth of Artemis ~ ~ ~ ~ When Zeus, king of the Olympian gods, had a liason with the nymph Leto Hera, his wife, began to persecute Leto. Leto came to the tiny island of Ortygia where she gave birth to Artemis without any pain. (So, Artemis became a Goddess invoked by women in childbirth.) Immediately after Her birth, Artemis helped Her mother to bear Apollo, her twin brother. When Zeus asked His daughter Artemis which gifts She desired of Him She answered that She wished for eternal virginity. (Thus, She became one of the three Olympian Maiden Goddesses.) Further, She asked for bow and arrows, sixty ocean nymphs to be Her companions, and twenty river nymphs from Crete to look after Her hunting gear and hounds. She desired all the mountains in the world and one city. Zeus gave Her all She wished for and made Her Goddess of rivers and harbors.

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