Leo+N.

Artemis and Arieus by Leo N. Once there was a hunter named Arieus who caught the eye of Artemis. The goddess of the hunt was amazed. Never before had she seen a mortal man run so fast or shoot so far or wrestle so many beasts. They started hunting together and became friends. and then much to the surprise of the virgin goddess, even lovers. Emmettieus was a jealous fawn who also loved Artemis, and he was furious that a mortal could succeed where he had failed. Emmettieus called a vulture to him and told the bird to kill Arieus. Luckily, a she-wolf was there. She ran to Artemis, goddess of the wild, to warn her. Artemis rushed to Arieus, but she was too late. Arieus lay dying but was still trying to fend off the vulture with his dying breath. In a rage, Artemis cursed the vulture so it would be ugly and have to eat carrion. Even though she punished his killer, Artemis could not save Arieus.

In an act of desperation, Artemis, goddess of the moon, shirked her duties as the moon goddess and went straight to the underworld. Artemis begged Hades, lord of the dead, to let Arieus come back to life, but Hades refused. Still, once a month, Artemis goes to the underworld to visit Arieus and to beg Hades to let him come back to life. But Hades always refuses. So Artemis comes back to the sky, and as she gets closer to Olympus, the moon gets bigger. As she goes farther, the moon gets smaller. Sometimes, it is not there at all because the moon goddess Artemis is visiting her love. You can even see the moon goddess switching direction as she goes to and from the underworld. You can also see when she is done her journey home and is rejoicing and celebrating her monthly visit with Arieus. The moon goddess shines her brightest as she thinks of past and future visits with her love Arieus.

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