Artemis Brauronia
godAn epithet of Artemis worshipped at Brauron in Attica, where young girls performed bear dances as a rite of passage before marriage.
The Myth
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:
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