The twin sister of Apollo, Artemis was the virgin-huntress, a goddess of the chase and forest creatures. The young also fell under her care, and because her mother Leto had delivered her without pain Artemis was called upon to help in childbirth. She was usually depicted in long robes carrying a bow and quiver, and she was accompanied by a troop of woodland nymphs.
One of those nymphs was Callisto, whom Zeus made love to in the guise of Artemis herself. One account says that when Artemis discovered the poor nymph was pregnant she reached for her bow and an arrow. Just as Artemis was about to kill the hapless girl, Zeus changed Callisto into a bear and set her up in heaven as the constellation of Ursa Major.
Artemis was very secretive about where she bathed, so when the hunter Actaeon came across her and her nymphs in the nude she changed him into a stag and set his own hounds to tear him to pieces.
