Cult of Artemis at Brauron

Worshipers of Artemis were found all over the Ancient Greek world. This is evident from the presence of Artemis shrines and followers in various regions across ancient Greece. One of the most famous worshiping sites for Artemis was in Attica at Brauron. Artemis is said to have presided over all the biological transitions of females from before puberty to the first childbirth.[1] "Young girls began to prepare for the event of the first childbirth at an early age. Even before menarche young girls danced for Artemis, in some places playing the role of animals. At the Attic site, or Brauron, in the rite called arkteia, girls representing the polis of Athens imitated she-bears, arktoi."[2] "The initiation ritual for girls was called the Brauronia, after the location of Artemis' shrine at Brauron, in Attica, where the ritual, performed by girls before they reached puberty, took place."[1] Brauron is the site where Iphigenia, Agamemnon’s daughter, is said to have established a temple to Artemis by decree of Athena, as told in Euripides’ Iphigenia in Tauris.

  1. ^ a b Harris, Stephen L. and Gloria Platzner, eds. Classical Mythology Images and Insights. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2004, 335.
  2. ^ Blundell, Sue and Margaret Williamson, eds. The Sacred and the Feminine in Ancient Greece. New York: Routledge, 1998, 33.