Artemis Brauronia
An epithet of Artemis worshipped at Brauron in Attica, where young girls performed bear dances as a rite of passage before marriage.
The Myth of Artemis Brauronia
Artemis Brauronia was worshipped at her sanctuary at Brauron on the east coast of Attica, one of the most important religious sites for Athenian women. According to myth, the local bear sacred to Artemis was killed after it scratched a girl, and the goddess sent a plague. The oracle declared that Athenian girls must "play the bear" (arkteia) for Artemis before marriage. Girls aged five to ten, called arktoi (little bears), spent time at Brauron wearing saffron robes and performing dances imitating bears. The rite marked their transition from wild childhood to the domesticated life expected of married women. Iphigenia, whom Artemis rescued from sacrifice at Aulis by substituting a deer, was said to have served as priestess at Brauron. Votive offerings found at the site include mirrors, jewellery, and small garments dedicated by women after childbirth.
Parents
Zeus, Leto
Symbols
Fun Fact
The word "arctic" comes from arktos (bear), the same root as the arktoi girls at Brauron — because the Arctic is the land beneath the Great Bear constellation. The deep connection between Artemis, bears, and the north sky means that every time someone says "Arctic" or "Antarctic," they are etymologically referencing the bear-goddess cult of a 2,600-year-old Athenian girls' coming-of-age ceremony.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Arkteia
💭 conceptinitiation, girlhood
The ritual at Brauron where Athenian girls between ages five and ten "played the bear" for Artemis, serving as a coming-of-age rite before marriage.
Brauron
🏛 placegeography
A coastal sanctuary in Attica sacred to Artemis, where young Athenian girls served as "bears" in her honour.
Brauronia
💭 conceptFestival, Artemis, girls
Festival of Artemis at Brauron where young girls danced as bears before marriage
Artemis
⚡ godGoddess of the hunt, wilderness, and childbirth
The virgin huntress who roamed the wild places with her nymphs, punishing those who trespassed on her domain with lethal precision.
Artemis
⚡ godGoddess of the hunt, wilderness, the moon, childbirth
Twin sister of Apollo and goddess of the hunt. Artemis roamed the wild forests with her band of nymphs, fiercely protecting her virginity and the natural world.
Diana
⚡ godHunt, moon, wilderness, crossroads
Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, and wild places, identified with the Greek Artemis
Faunus
⚡ godForests, fields, flocks, prophecy
Roman god of the wild, forests, and flocks, equivalent to the Greek Pan
Charites
⚡ godGrace, beauty, and festivity
Collective name for the three Graces who embodied charm, beauty, and creative inspiration
Demeter Thesmophoros
⚡ godlaw, agriculture
An epithet of Demeter as bringer of divine law and civilised customs, honoured at the Thesmophoria, the most widespread festival in the Greek world.
Paphos
🏛 placeSacred geography
The chief sanctuary of Aphrodite on Cyprus, where the goddess was said to have first come ashore from the sea
Atalanta
🗡 herospeed, independence
The only woman among the Argonauts in some traditions, a virgin huntress raised by bears who could outrun any man and demanded a footrace as the price of marriage.
Juno
⚡ godMarriage, childbirth, women, the state
Queen of the Roman gods and protector of women and the state, counterpart to the Greek Hera