Artemis Brauronia and the Sanctuary at Brauron
Hi! I’ve been collecting a bunch of mini essays researching different epithets of Artemis to create an archive for myself, and thought I might as well start putting them up here too. These are very simple, entry-level dives into some of the different names Artemis was worshipped under across the ancient world and the rituals linked to them, and I hope people might find them interesting. So, today we’re kicking off my Artemis epithet archive with one of my favourites: Artemis Brauronia!
As the most common myths tell it, one day two men of Attica were out hunting when they killed a bear that was sacred to Artemis. Angered, she threatened Attica with plague until the people would devote themselves to repaying her. As such, the people of Attica agreed that once every four years they would consecrate their young daughters into service of Artemis at the Sanctuary at Brauron. This Sanctuary is said to be the one set up by Iphigenia and Orestes upon their return to Attica from Tauris. The Artemis that was worshipped here and served by these young girl priestesses was known as Artemis Brauronia, and the rites performed here in her honour were, in my opinion, some of the most interesting ancient Artemis worship rituals.
Young girls that participated in the rituals at Brauron were often around ten years old, sometimes much younger, and were referred to as Arktoi (little bears). At the Arkteia festival, held every four years, these arktoi took part in rituals to please Artemis, including races and dancing. These dances were slow and stilted, meant to mimic the movements of bears, and performed to music played on the diaulos. At the end of dances the arktoi would ritually shed their robes, believed to represent Iphigenia in her final moments before being sacrificed. Here, we see the way hero worship and worship of the Goddess blurred together at Brauron. The robes these girls wore are often described as saffron-coloured and may have been accompanied by bear masks, though earlier in Brauron’s history girls were described as wearing real bear skins instead. As arktoi, the girls worshipped Artemis as a Great She-bear Goddess, and she was an important Goddess especially to women in the area.
Artemis Brauronia was largely a Goddess of women’s transitions through life. The Arkteia was focused around these young girls, all of them pre-pubescent and still considered to be in the wildness of their youth. The festival may have marked a ritual representation of their transition into puberty and into the womanhood that lay beyond. Brauronian Artemis also presided over pregnant and birthing women; the clothes of women who had died in childbirth were often dedicated to her here. Other women who survived childhbirth might dedicate their baby to her in thanks. Brauronian Artemis is not the only epithet of this Goddess where we see her as a protector of young or vulnerable women and a steward through the transitions of female life, but it is a particularly interesting epithet of its kind. The strong bear imagery, and occasional presentation of Artemis as she-bear or motherly bear herself, are interesting images that are quite different to some of her usual presentations. The significant links to Iphegenia, and the roles Artemis plays as steward and puppeteer of Ipihgenia’s fate, also have interesting implications around the idea of Her as a Goddess who watches over girls’ changing paths in life. There are more details on both the festivals held at Brauron and Brauronian Artemis herself that I highly recommend looking into as they’re very interesting.
In modern-day worship, we can still honour Artemis Brauronia in our practice. Here are some simple ways you could do so:
Play music, collect devotional playlists, or dance as a devotional activity to mimic the Arkteia
Offer images of bears to her, for example small bear sculptures or drawings.
Call upon her to watch over and guide you through transitional periods of your life, including physical health changes.
Use this epithet in prayers when it feels appropriate to you. I typically call out to Artemis by three or more different epithets when invoking her at the start of a prayer, and Brauronia can be used as one of these for any prayer but especially prayers where you feel Brauronian Artemis may have some guidance to offer you.
Epithets of Artemis can all be called upon whenever it feels appropriate to you, and how you feel about epithets and use them in your worship is up to you. But you might particularly like to call upon Artemis Brauronia for prayers surrounding:
Transitions - these might be changes in your life or circumstances, changes to your health, even gender transitions or changes to how you socially present yourself
Pregnancy, birth, menstruation, or anything surrounding assigned-female-at-birth peoples’ health
Protection and guidance, for yourself or for the young and vulnerable people in your life
I hope this has been interesting! Artemis Brauronia is one of my favourite epithets of Artemis’, and I’m excited to kick off this series of posts with something about Her. It’s worth mentioning: ancient ideas around Artemis Brauronia often mention women or girls and when I use the word women from ancient sources here I mostly mean AFAB people, but in a modern society with different ideas about gender this epithet of hers is of course open to all people no matter how you identify. Terfs aren’t welcome here. Thanks for reading!
And thanks be to Artemis Brauronia, she-bear Goddess, leader of the arktoi in dance and wild rites. May you watch over us all as we go through change in our lives, and guide us where our souls are meant to go.
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