Britomartis
nymphCretan goddess of hunting and fishing nets who leapt from a cliff to escape King Minos.
The Myth
Britomartis was a Cretan nymph devoted to Artemis who invented hunting nets and fishing nets. King Minos pursued her for nine months across Crete until she threw herself from a cliff into the sea, where she was caught in fishermen's nets. Artemis rescued and deified her. She was worshipped across Crete under the name Dictynna, meaning "Lady of the Nets." Her mythology preserves a distinctly Minoan religious tradition that predates the Olympian system and was absorbed into it.
Parents
Zeus, Carme
Symbols
Fun Fact
Her name is pre-Greek, likely Minoan, meaning "sweet maiden" — she is one of the clearest examples of an older Cretan deity absorbed into the Greek pantheon.
Explore Further
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godTwin sister of Apollo and goddess of the hunt. Artemis roamed the wild forests with her band of...
Crete
placeCrete was the largest Greek island and the seat of the Minoan civilisation, home to King Minos, the...
Minos
heroMinos was the legendary king of Crete who ruled the first great maritime empire, commissioned the...
Olympia
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Zeus
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