Cult of Artemis at Brauron

At the Attic site, or Brauron, in the rite called arkteia, girls representing the polis of Athens imitated she-bears, arktoi.

In lines 1446–1468 of Euripides' 'Iphigenia at Tauris' we find a reference to this origin myth: "And you, Iphigeneia, beside the holy stairs of Brauron you must hold the keys for the goddess herself: where you will die and be buried, and – as a delight for you – they will dedicate the finely woven material of woven cloth which by chance women having lost their lives in childbirth abandon in their homes.

In a final act of desperation, she shrugs out of her robes and tries wordlessly to reach out to the elders, hoping that in their pity they will release her from her hell.

"One legend describes how the polis of Patrai was punished with plague (loimos) and famine (limos) because a priestess of Artemis Triklaria entertained her lover in the sanctuary.

The Athenians consulted the oracle and they told that there would be a release from the plague if they compelled their virgins to play the bear, as blood price for the death of the animal.

The Athenians decreed that no virgin might be given in marriage to a man if she had not previously played the bear for Artemis.

[8] French historian Pierre Vidal-Naquet said of the cult practices, "The myth is not difficult to explain: in exchange for the very advance of culture implied by the killing of wild animals, an advance for which men are responsible, the girls are obliged before marriage – indeed before puberty – to undergo a period of ritual 'wildness'.

Hughes notes that "the etymology of the name Artemis would be ark-temnis, “bear-sanctuary,” or more fully paraphrased, “she who establishes (or protects) the bear sanctuary.” Such sanctuaries were commonly and most characteristically groves of trees[11] near water.

Cole suggests that “the theme that unites the most distinctive sites of Artemis is the idea of dangerous or threatened passage.

The structure of the temple highlighted the nearby river because water was essential to the rituals performed in honor of Artemis.

The dance, also called the "arkteia", was made up of slow, solemn steps meant to imitate the movements of a bear and was performed to a tune from a diaulos (double flute).

Little is known about what each stage of the ritual meant, but it is understood that they each symbolized a gesture of devotion to Artemis in return for her protection over the young and guidance on their way to maturity.

These principles stemmed from the belief of primitive hunters and gatherers who believed that living things were sentient, intelligent beings, deserving of respect.

For this reason, Artemis is seen as an early pioneer and patroness of environmental education and the worship of the virgin goddess is in large part responsible for many of the conservation efforts of Classical Greece.