On the Couch with Artemis

By Marilyn Whitehorse

Zeus was strolling among the vales of Arcadia one day when he

heard the lilting sound of girlish laughter. He peered through the

bushes and saw his daughter, Artemis, with her pubescent nymphs.

One nymph in particular caught his attention. He tried to forget

her, but the memory of her ripening body lodged firmly in his

mind. He continued to go to the woods, hoping for another glimpse

of her. One afternoon, he got lucky and spied her alone. She had

fallen behind Artemis' hunting party and had stopped to rest in a

shady grove. Zeus' moment of hesitation was quickly driven

asunder by his intense desire. He changed himself into an exact

replica of Artemis and approached the resting girl. He engaged her

in conversation so as to gain her confidence. When she responded

favorably, abet mistakenly, he lost all decorum and pursued the

seduction. He kissed her, but not like any sisterly kiss she had ever

experienced. Still, she was a puer and did not understand her

danger. The kiss aroused Zeus even more and he kissed her again

pulling her close. Suddenly she understood and fought valiantly for

her virginity. Alas, men are stronger than young girls and the act of

rape was no stranger to Zeus. He had his way with Callisto and then

he was gone. She arose after awhile and slowly found her way to a

mountain stream to wash away the shame of his violation. Artemis

saw Callisto and urged her to join the joyful nymphs who were

returning from the hunt. Poor guilt-ridden Callisto tried to join

them, but her spirit was broken: her stride was not strong and she

could not look Artemis in the eye.

Nine months passed. One warm afternoon Artemis and the

nymphs came to a pool to bathe after a particularly vigorous hunt.

Artemis led them in shedding their tunics to bathe in the nude. All

the nymphs stripped, save Callisto. Artemis entreated her to join

them. Callisto resisted. Finally Artemis insisted, and Callisto was

forced to reveal her swollen belly.

Artemis was furious that Callisto had betrayed the sworn vow

of chastity and banished her from the wood. Alone Callisto

wandered, crying for the help she knew she would soon need to

birth the child she carried. Zeus' wife, Hera had known about Zeus'

dalliance all along and had been patiently waiting. With Artemis'

abandonment, the desperate Callisto was forced to accept help from

Hera when the time came for the birth of her child. Hera kept the

newborn boy, Arcas, and sent him to Mount Cyllene to be raised by

Maia. The vengeful Hera turned Callisto into a bear and sent her to

the deep forest to live alone. Arcas grew, and was taught to hunt

with a spear. One day he caught a she-bear in his trap. There was

no way he could have known he was about to kill his mother; but

she, as any mother would, recognized her son. She shrank back in

horror as he slowly raised his spear. He stopped momentarily when

he looked into the bear's plaintive eyes, which was the moment that

was needed. Be it either Zeus or Hera's doing, the mother and son

were sent whirling into the night heavens and were released to

forever spin around the Pole Star together: Callisto as the Great

Bear (Ursa major), and Arcas as the Little Bear (Ursa minor).

I, Artemis, am older than the Greek god, Zeus. In fact, if you

go back far enough, it is said that, although I was not his birth

mother, I was the one who raised him. Thousands and thousands of

years ago (but, I ask you: what is time to gods?) Zeus rose up

and claimed his powers, as men are wont to do. It is the old, old

story…

It is said that I, Artemis, don't have much use for men, and is

it any wonder? After all, I was upon my father's knee when he gave

the nymphs to me. And then what does he go and do--rape my

favorite nymph, Calllisto. Some have counseled me that perhaps he

mistook Callisto for me, dressed as she was in the short tunic we

wore for the hunt. Callisto or I--it matters not, now; and it mattered

not, then. Once his ardor was aroused, it mattered not a whit. He

would have himself a young virgin, no matter what trick he had to

play on her to begin the seduction. Although it pisses me off that he

disguised himself as me, knowing she would trust me. And, then,

after she was in his grasp, she was helpless to defend herself. Oh, if

she had only been able to cry out! I would have rushed to her

rescue and shot him with my silver bow and arrow. I would have

sicced my hounds on him and ripped him apart as they did Acteon.

But she did not cry out; or if she did, no one heard. And if she

struggled, it was in vain. I fear not even I could have overpowered a

god in his state of arousal.

Oh, the shame Callisto must have carried in her heart and in

her body. As any girl too young to be a woman, yet not a virgin, she

held close her secret and her shame. Who could she tell? She

could not tell me, her best friend--for we had sworn a vow of

chastity--and her friendship with me meant the world to her.

And where was Zeus? Back with his jealous sister/wife, Hera.

Hera, the very one who banished my mother to Delos in her hour of

need. Thank God I was an easy birth for her, and was there to help

her with the long labor of my twin brother, Apollo.

See? See how confusing and complicated this all gets? I get so

many different versions from so many different people, and

anymore, I am not sure myself. At any rate, what happened was

that Callisto was turned into a bear. Who did it, you ask? Well, it

depends on who you believe. If it was Zeus, then he did it

purely out of selfishness (which he is obviously not above) to save

himself from Hera's anger. Or, it might have been Hera, who is

always meddling in Zeus' business--trying to keep a reign on his

wandering eye. There are even those who have suggested that I,

Artemis, changed my friend into a bear. Can you imagine who

would intimate such a ridiculous thing? But I digress…

It is true--the anger I felt was at Callisto. Yes, I admit it. She

had broken her promise to remain chaste. And I also admit that

I cast her out before I knew the real story--I assumed she had

welcomed Zeus' advances, although I really did not understand why,

or even why I would think that. I just jumped to conclusions--what

can I say? I did not know the horror that had befallen her. My

father raped her instead of me. How can I ever make amends to my

dear friend Callisto? Only by giving away one of my natural gifts

can I stop this terrible pain in my heart. I will use my wild animal

nature and the gifts I learned as I helped birth my brother to

midwife women when they are at the crowning of childbirth. I can

appear to them in those final moments. I swear that I will act

swiftly and listen closely--when the woman cries, I will remember

my vow to Callisto. and I will grant the woman's wishes--be it to

deliver the child safely into her arms, or deliver the mother gently

to the other world.

But that is not enough to assuage my guilt. What else can I do

to honor my friend? I can help the mother, surely; and the babe.

Who else can I help? Callisto was but an innocent child…yes…the

Child. I will be with the child, especially the pubescent girls. I will

give them the strength I could not give Callisto that day--the loving,

mothering fierceness of the bear. I will take the girls to Brauronia in

Attica. We shall dress in bear-like saffron robes and honor Calllisto

in dance and song. We will sacrifice a goat and let the blood flow as

a reminder, as a pledge, to keep the arktoi--the she-bears--safe from

marriage until they are nubile. Yes, this I can do.

I do not come to town very often, you know. I prefer to be in

the hills with the animals. I prefer to wear sandals, not shoes. I

prefer to sleep when the moon says sleep, and wake when the sun

says wake and not mind the time. But I see that my time is up. I

rise from this couch now, my thoughts well in hand, my mind made

up to perform the deeds as best I can. I thank you for your time, Dr.

Paris. I feel so much better. I am clear about my purpose in life

now. It really does help not to isolate so much. You are right--it

does help to talk these things out. How much do I owe you?

Works Cited

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Hillman, James, editor. Puer Papers. "Artemis and the Puer"; Tom Moore. Dallas: Spring Publications. 1979.

Hope, Murray. The Elements of the Greek Tradition. Longmead, England: Element Books, 1989.

Paris, Ginette. Pagan Meditations. Woodstock, CT: Spring Publications, 1986.

---, editor. A CD Rom Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology, Volume I. Multimedia.com, Inc., 2000.

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Pratt, Annis. Dancing with Goddesses: Archetypes, Poetry and Empowerment. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1994.

Richardson, Donald. Greek Mythology for Everyone: Legends of the Gods and Heroes. New York: Avenel Books, 1989.

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Posted by john at June 16, 2005 10:20 AM