A 400 BCE statuette of the goddess Artemis riding a deer, found in Siracusa (now on display at Museo Orsi). Such votives were used to venerate deities throughout the ancient Greek Mediterranean. Artemis is the mistress of animals and wild, untamed things. The wilderness is where you’ll feel her presence. She is the goddess of the hunt and hunters. She protects women in childbirth and maidens. She is a symbol of female independence, and shows us the value of solitude and wild, untamed places. She was strongly venerated in Siracusa and beyond.
