Most people know Artemis and Apollo as the twin gods of the Moon and the Sun — perhaps the most famous siblings in Greek mythology. But their full story is far stranger, darker, and more beautiful than the simplified versions we usually remember. And we are deeply fascinated with this much darker side of the moon and the sun. This is the third chapter in our ongoing THEA series — exploring the myths behind our mythological jewelry collection.
The Temple of Apollo, Pompeii, and a marble column fragment from the island of Delos — personal archive. Alongside: the Apollo Ring and Artemis Earring by Macabre Gadgets.
The Birth of Artemis and Apollo
Even the birth of Artemis and Apollo was full of feral drama.
Leto — a powerful Titaness and sixth wife of Zeus — is pregnant with twins. When the current Queen of the Gods, Hera, finds out, she is full of rage and jealousy. She curses Leto, forbidding her from giving birth on solid earth or any island touched by the sun, and on top of that she sends the powerful serpent Python to hunt her. Leto wandered through the lands of Greece seeking shelter for many days until, finally, Zeus secretly intervened. He guided his brother Poseidon to help — Poseidon raised the floating, barren island of Delos from beneath the sea. There, shielded by mist, Leto gave birth to Artemis first, who then acted as midwife to help deliver Apollo. This event was so vivid and important in ancient Greek mythology that it can be found in many sources: the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (6th century BCE) describes the birth of the Sun god in every detail; Callimachus’ Hymn to Delos (3rd century BCE) depicts the island of Delos as an actual living character; and Pseudo-Apollodorus’ The Library (2nd century CE) gives us one of the most extraordinary missing pieces of the myth — that Artemis was born first.
Ancient columns, mosaics, and marble ionic column volutes on the island of Delos — personal archive. Alongside: the Artemis Ring, Artemis Earring, and Apollo Pendant by Macabre Gadgets.
Artemis — Goddess of the Hunt and Wilderness
Wild older sister — born after nine days and nights of intense and painful labor, she immediately grew into a fully accomplished deity, ready to help deliver her baby brother. Often portrayed as a wild huntress roaming the woods, she was of course far more complex and vicious than that. Goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and the moon; protector of virgins and childbirth — those are her usual titles. Apart from those, we have plenty of evidence from ancient sources describing her as hard and violent toward those who wronged her, and swift to punish those who disrespected her, the gods, or nature itself.
One of the most famous examples is the myth of Actaeon the hunter. After he stumbled upon the goddess while she was bathing, Artemis turned him into a stag, took his voice to prevent him from seeking help, and as a result he was torn to pieces by his own dogs while trying to escape.
Another unlucky mortal man saw her bathing — Siproites — and this time Artemis chose a different punishment. She didn’t kill him, but turned him into a woman to continue living his life.
“The Cretan, Siproites, had also been turned into a woman for having seen Artemis bathing when out hunting.”
Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses
While the entire surviving mention of the myth is only twelve words long, ancient Greeks considered this punishment reasonable and merciful. In the brutal logic of Greek myths, surviving an encounter with an angry deity was considered a massive win. Regardless of the most probable separation from his home, family, and previous life forever, Siproites still kept his life. Whether it was mercy or not we simply have no idea — there is no mention of Siproites’ opinion on this — but we can say with certainty that the goddess highly valued her alone time during her baths.
Artemis’ personal evolution is also far from ordinary. While she was always the protector of animals and young girls, her appearance and symbolism changed dramatically. The origin of her name is believed to be the word Arktos — the bear — and early Bronze Age rituals involved young girls dancing dressed as bears. Much later, in classical Greek mythology, she becomes the more familiar deity: the honorable daughter of Zeus and sister to Apollo. But even in her recognizable form — a maiden dressed in a tunic, roaming the woods — she remains one of the most controversial figures in Greek mythology.
Duality is her nature. She guarded young animals but oversaw the hunt; she remained an eternal virgin but became the vital patron of childbirth and midwifery. Generosity and instant cruelty, empathy and hard punishment — her contradictions make her a true goddess of the wilderness: unpredictable and powerful as nature itself.
Draped Artemis wearing a moon crown — Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome. Alongside: the Artemis Ring by Macabre Gadgets, crowned in gold.
It is this version of Artemis — not the softened modern interpretation — that continues to inspire THEA by Macabre Gadgets, our line of mythological jewelry inspired by ancient Greek sculpture.
Apollo — God of the Sun, Music and Prophecy
The younger twin-brother, the son of a god — probably one of the most recognizable figures in Greek mythology. Patron of the arts, archery, and prophecy. His divine skills with the lyre and bow are praised in countless myths, as is his versatile and colorful love life. But he, like his sister, has a much darker side.
While our contemporaries and popular culture often interpret Apollo as a bright, benevolent golden boy, ancient Greeks definitely did not share this view. Modern scholars believe his name is connected to the ancient Greek verb apollymi — to destroy — and we have plenty of evidence in mythology that he lived up to his name.
The Apollo of Belvedere — Musei Vaticani, Rome. Alongside: the Apollo Ring by Macabre Gadgets — the same face, the same hair, cast in silver.
While his older sister grew fast, he grew even faster. After Apollo was delivered he was fed ambrosia, the gods’ nectar, and seconds later he shattered his baby blankets and stood there as a divine, fully grown man on his first day of life, demanding a lyre to play and arrows to shoot.
Just four days old, Apollo hunted down the monstrous serpent Python — who had tormented his mother — in its lair at Mount Parnassus and shot one hundred silver arrows to slay it. We have enough examples from ancient sources to conclude that this way of solving problems was one of Apollo’s favorites.
In the opening book of Homer’s Iliad, an absolute horror unfolds after the mighty king Agamemnon insults a priest of Apollo. The Sun god descends from Mount Olympus wrapped in a dark shroud of night. Sitting just outside the Greek military camp, he shoots silver arrows into the army for nine straight days, raining down a horrific plague that rots the soldiers from the inside out — demonstrating his cold, calculated indifference to human life and a very fragile ego.
His passionate nature led him to more than a few rushed actions and left us colorful, sometimes frightening stories. Apollo fell deeply in love with a mortal princess named Coronis and left a white-feathered crow to guard her while he was away. While pregnant with Apollo’s child, Coronis fell in love with a mortal man and betrayed the Sun God. The crow flew to Apollo to report the infidelity.
Enraged by the bad news, Apollo cursed the bird, scorching its feathers so severely that all crows were turned permanently black. Driven by jealousy, he shot Coronis through the chest with an arrow. As her body burned on the funeral pyre, Apollo experienced a flash of regret — not for killing her, but for his unborn child. He slit open her corpse on the blazing logs and pulled the baby from her womb. That rescued infant grew up to be Asclepius, the god of medicine.
Diana — Musei Capitolini, Rome. Alongside: the Apollo Ring, Apollo Pendant, and Artemis Pendant by Macabre Gadgets.
Vicious and demanding, he was not once brought to punishment by his father Zeus for his actions — even being transformed into a mortal for a year to serve as a shepherd.
While we are well aware of the general idea of these deities in modern culture, we feel that showing their darker side completes the picture. In some ways the ancient Greeks’ perception was more sophisticated than ours. They allowed Apollo to be absolutely beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Artemis was saving life with one hand and taking it with the other. Perhaps in these contradictions they found a beauty now lost. The complexity of the Greek gods reflects something deeply human. What we see in these myths often tells us as much about ourselves as it does about the gods themselves.
These myths continue to inspire THEA by Macabre Gadgets — our ongoing exploration of ancient Greek mythology through handcrafted sculptural jewelry in marble and sterling silver. Each piece begins with research into ancient texts, archaeology, and classical art before becoming a wearable fragment of antiquity. Read more in our THEA series: Chapter I — The Origin of THEA and Chapter II — Poseidon, Aphrodite & Helen of Troy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are Artemis and Apollo in Greek mythology?
Artemis and Apollo are twin siblings, children of Zeus and the Titaness Leto. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and the moon; Apollo is the god of the sun, music, poetry, archery, and prophecy. They are among the twelve Olympian gods and are considered the most famous divine siblings in ancient Greek mythology.
Where were Artemis and Apollo born?
According to ancient sources, they were born on the floating island of Delos, raised from the sea by Poseidon at Zeus’s request. Hera had cursed their mother Leto, forbidding her from giving birth on any solid earth or island touched by the sun. Delos, barren and adrift, was the only place that offered refuge.
Who was born first — Artemis or Apollo?
According to Pseudo-Apollodorus’ The Library (2nd century CE), Artemis was born first, after nine days and nights of labor. She then immediately acted as midwife to help deliver her twin brother Apollo — an extraordinary detail that underscores her role as protector of childbirth from the very moment of her own birth.
Why is Artemis considered a dark goddess?
While often portrayed as a noble huntress, ancient sources describe Artemis as swift to punish and capable of extreme cruelty. She transformed Actaeon into a stag to be torn apart by his own dogs for accidentally seeing her bathe, and turned Siproites into a woman for the same offense. Her duality — protector of young life and ruthless enforcer of her own boundaries — makes her one of the most complex figures in Greek mythology.
What is the myth of Actaeon?
Actaeon was a hunter who stumbled upon Artemis bathing in a forest pool. Enraged, the goddess transformed him into a stag and took his voice so he could not call for help. He was then hunted down and torn apart by his own hunting dogs. The myth is one of the most frequently depicted scenes in ancient Greek art.
What does the name Apollo mean?
Modern scholars connect the name Apollo to the ancient Greek verb apollymi — meaning “to destroy” or “to kill.” This darker etymology aligns with many of his myths, in which he brings plague, death, and punishment with his silver arrows, often in response to perceived slights against himself or his family.
What is the myth of Apollo and Coronis?
Coronis was a mortal princess loved by Apollo. While pregnant with his child, she fell in love with a mortal man. A white crow reported the betrayal to Apollo, who in his rage cursed the bird black — the origin myth of why crows are black. He then killed Coronis with an arrow. As her body burned on the funeral pyre, Apollo cut the unborn child from her womb. That child became Asclepius, the god of medicine.
Why did Apollo send a plague in the Iliad?
In the opening of Homer’s Iliad, the Greek king Agamemnon insulted Chryses, a priest of Apollo, by refusing to return his captured daughter. Apollo descended from Olympus and shot silver arrows into the Greek camp for nine days, causing a devastating plague. The episode establishes Apollo’s terrifying power and his fierce protection of those who serve him.
What is the connection between Artemis and the bear?
The origin of Artemis’ name is believed to derive from the Greek word arktos, meaning bear. In early Bronze Age Attica, young girls participated in rituals at Brauron in which they “became bears” — dancing and living in the sanctuary of Artemis before marriage. This bear cult predates the classical image of Artemis as a huntress and reveals a much older, wilder layer of her worship.
What jewelry does Macabre Gadgets make inspired by Artemis and Apollo?
The THEA collection by Macabre Gadgets includes the Artemis Ring — crowned in gold with a marble fragment — the Artemis Earring, the Artemis Pendant, the Apollo Ring sculpted from the Apollo of Belvedere, and the Apollo Pendant. Each piece is handcrafted in sterling silver and marble and inspired by ancient Greek sculpture and mythology.
Where can I see ancient sculptures of Artemis and Apollo?
Major collections include the Apollo of Belvedere at the Musei Vaticani (Rome), the draped Artemis at the Museo Nazionale Romano (Rome), the Diana at the Musei Capitolini (Rome), and numerous examples at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the Louvre in Paris, and the British Museum in London.
What is the THEA collection by Macabre Gadgets?
THEA is an ongoing series of handcrafted sculptural jewelry by Macabre Gadgets, inspired by ancient Greek mythology, sculpture, and archaeology. Each piece begins with research into ancient texts and classical art before being hand-sculpted in wax and cast in sterling silver, often combined with bonded marble. Explore the full series: Chapter I, Chapter II, and the THEA collection.