[1] The priests and priestesses of Hymnia were at first always virgins who were to remain celibate in the priesthood.
[2] They were also subject to high standards of propriety, such as being forbidden to enter into the home of a private individual.
[3] This lifetime celibacy was fairly unusual for ancient Greek priesthoods.
[4] In the early 7th century BCE, after the king Aristocrates of Orchomenus raped one of the priestesses in the temple,[5] it was deemed that the priestess should always be a married woman,[6] or, according to some, an elderly woman,[7] or one who had simply ceased or had had "enough" sex with men.
[8][9] The sanctuary of Artemis Hymnia is believed to have been near the modern town of Levidi, on the northern slope of Mt.