Wednesday, 14 October 2015

Who are Actaeon and Diana?

He was the son of Aristaeus who was a  priestly herdsman and Autonoe in Boeotia. Like Achilles of the later generation, he was trained the centaur Chiron. 
He fell in to the fatal wrath of Artemis(Diana), but surviving details of his crime vary. The only certainty is in what Actaeon suffered, his suffering and what Artemis did was made the hunter become the hunted. The was transformed into a stag with one splash of water and his raging hounds, struck with a 'wolf's frenzy', tore him limb from limb as they would a stag. This is the iconic motif by which Actaeon is recognised in both ancient art and in Renaissance and post-Renaissance depictions.  

Artemis(Diana)
The Hellenic goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and protector of young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women. She was often depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrow. 

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