ARTEMIS

Real Name: Artemis

Occupation: Conservationalist, Adventurer, Goddess of the hunt and the moon, Patron deity of the Amazons and Taurian tribes of Earth

Legal Status: Citizen of Olympus

Identity: The general populace of Earth does not believe in Artemis except as a mythological character.

Other Aliases: Diana (Roman name), Devana (Dacian name), Diana Reason (mortal identity), Cynthia ("born of Mount Cynthus"), The Virgin Goddess,

Place of Birth: The Island of Delos, Greece

Marital Status: Single

Known Relatives: Zeus (father), Leto (mother); Apollo (brother), Gaea (great-grandmother),  Cronus (paternal grandfather), Rhea (paternal grandmother); Coeus (maternal grandfather) , Phoebe (maternal grandmother), Ares, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hercules, Hermes (half-brothers), Aphrodite, Eileithyia, Discord, Hebe, Persephone (half-sisters), Chiron, Hades, Poseidon (uncles), Asteria, Demeter, Hera, Hestia (aunts), Hecate, Triton (cousins), Aristaeus, Cupid, Janus (nephews), Orion (cousin, deceased)

Group Membership: The Gods of Olympus

Affiliations: None

Base of Operations: Olympus, also Delos, Minnesota

First Appearance: (modern) Yellowjacket Comics #1, (recent) Thor I #129

History: Artemis is the daughter of Zeus, Ruler of the Olympian Gods, and Leto, goddess of day and daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe. Leto was just one of several wives taken by Zeus during his war with the Titans, and Hera, Queen of the gods, hated all of his children born out of wedlock. When she discovered Leto was heavy with child by Zeus, she forbade all the kingdoms of earth to welcome Leto so that she might conceive. Leto wandered aimlessly looking for a place to rest while being pursued by the dragon Python sent by Hera to insure Leto never found solace.

Leto was finally found and spirited away by Boreas, god of the north wind, who carried her to the island of Delos. Because Poseidon, the god of the sea, had just created the island, it was not bound by any laws created by Hera. Leto concealed herself in a cave within Mount Cynthus as her cries of labor were drowned out by heavy storms and her location concealed by dark clouds. When Hera heard that Leto was about to give birth, she delayed her daughter, Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth from attending and acting as midwife, but Iris, the rainbow-goddess, secretly spirited her off Olympus and helped Leto to conceive twins. 

Artemis lived on Delos for several years until as a adolescent immortal she was welcomed to Olympus as a goddess. Zeus bestowed her great gifts including a silver bow and an enchanted quiver of arrows, and she promised to him that she would always remain a virgin and to never marry. Due to this vow, Artemis came close to slaying one of the Cyclopes of Olympus for trying to abduct her. Worshipped on earth as goddess of the hunt, Artemis informally took over the role as moon-goddess from Selene. Selene and her sister Eos were both close confidantes of Artemis along with a gather of minor divinities including Procas, Callisto and Britomartis. Artemis expected vows of chastity from her companions, but they all eventually pursued male companionship. By Zeus, Callisto was mother of Arcas, eponym of the Arcadians, and Procris married Cephalus, a Phocian prince. More diligently holding on to her role as the virgin-goddess, Artemis killed the demi-god Buphagus and transformed the Theban prince Actaeon into a stag for watching her bathing nude in a lake after which he was torn apart by his own hunting dogs. Artemis almost forsake her vow to consider marrying the demigod Orion, a longtime hunting partner and son of Poseidon , but he was accidentally killed by her during a hunting accident. Her brother, Apollo, reportedly, had a role in Orion's death to preserve his sister's virginity and to this day, she holds a minor grudge over his duplicity or guilt in the death.

Regardless, Artemis and Apollo's friendship has been stronger than any other of the Olympians. They both came together at the defense of their mother when she was insulted by the Theban Queen Niobe who claimed she was superior to Leto by having so many more children. Using their arrows,  Artemis and Apollo slew all of Niobe's children to satisfy their wrath. Artemis also sided with Apollo on behalf of the Trojans during the Trojan War because she hated King Agamemnon of Mycenae for claiming to be a better hunter than herself. She punished him by seeing to it that his ships were unable to set sail when mounting his expedition against the city of Troy. With no winds to sail his ships, Agamemnon was told by the prophet Calchas that the only way Artemis would bring back the winds was for him to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia. This prophecy seemed to be Artemis's way of testing Agamemnon's resolve for when he intended to sacrifice Iphigenia for the sake of war, Artemis exchanged a deer in her place and spirited Iphigenia off to Crimea the land of the Taurians where as an adult, she became their priestess. She was returned to Mycenae years later by her brother Orestes as he conquered the region.

In the years after the Trojan War, worship of Artemis was carried by the growing Roman Empire into Britain where hostility between the Tuatha da Danaan, the gods of Britain and the Olympians began and lasted into modern years. Zeus, however, upset by the way the Romans were slaughtering Christians, allowed the worship of the Olympian gods to wane and with it, the power of the Roman Empire then at its zenith. He used prophecies of Livia, daughter of the self-styled warrior goddess Xena, concerning the end of the Olympian gods to simulate his death, and Artemis joined Athena in gaining revenge on Xena. Enchanted by the arch-angel Michael, Xena succeeded in seemingly killing several of the Olympian gods but for Ares, Aphrodite, Hercules, Persephone, Apollo and Hermes among others. Zeus, however, had spells in effect that anyone killed by Xena would be restored to life afterward. From behind the facade of their deaths, worship of the Olympian gods came to an end.    

Artemis, however, remained one of the tutelary gods and protectors of the Amazons over Queen Hippolyta. Over several years, she engaged in adventures with Apollo and Hercules and through them encountered the Asgardian gods, especially the thunder-god, Thor. Among her modern day associates is Hippolyta's daughter, Diana in her role as the legendary costumed adventurer, Wonder Woman, 

In modern years, with mortals gaining powers to rival many of the immortals of earth, Artemis became a conservationalist and advocate for the protection of animals. Using her godly powers against poachers and anyone cruelly treating animals, she was often mistaken as a normal woman utilizing superhuman powers. When Hercules was critically injured by the Masters of Evil, Artemis joined Hermes and Dionysus in capturing the Avengers, but she captured the Wasp on her own in the Caribbean using a Cernithian Hind as a distraction. When the Avengers fought their way out of Olympus from where they were taken, Artemis was humiliated when Photon (then known as Captain Marvel) blew up the ground upon she was standing. Eager for revenge, Apollo dissuaded her passion for revenge on the grounds that the Avengers had been brought to Olympus under mistaken pretenses.

A year later, the Olympian gods played host to the Hulk to cover his injuries after a bout with Hercules which only ended after Zeus had blasted the both of them to stop their fighting. Artemis even attempted to to rouse her brother from an intoxicated state after he attempted to keep up with the Hulk's drinking.  

From behind the mortal facade of philanthropist J. Peter Reason, Zeus meanwhile had created the Olympus Group, a charitable organization indebted to the arts and sciences in order to maintain a modern and more worthwhile connection with humanity. The high council of the Olympian gods became its chief stockholders with Zeus as its president. Through the agency, she and the retired gods of Olympus confronted Hera for manipulating Hercules into appearing on a reality television show as part of an attempt to gain revenge upon him. When she is dabbling in her role in this organization, Artemis continues her advocacy protecting animals, particularly in needless slaughter and unethical abuse.

According to the oracle at Dodona, Artemis had a previous human existence as a Cro-Magnon queen named Diana at the onset of the Hyborian age. Any truth or veracity of that account is unrevealed.

Height: 5' 9"
Weight: 420 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde

Strength Level: Artemis possesses superhuman strength over that of the average Olympian goddess (The average Olympian goddess has Class 25 strength). She can lift (press) about 30 tons under optimal conditions.

Known Superhuman Powers: Artemis possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Olympian gods. Like all Olympians, she is immortal: she has not aged since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. She has enchanted vitality, immunity to all Earthly diseases and resistance to conventional injury. If she were somehow wounded, her godly life force would enable her to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of her bodily molecules to cause her a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of equal power, such as Zeus, Poseidon and Apollo or for a number of Olympian gods working together to revive her. Iris also possesses superhuman strength and her Olympian metabolism provides her with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Olympian flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the Olympians' superhuman strength and weight.)