Artemis Expert

Missed the live?

Here’s a short clip from this week’s “Writing the Goddess: Inside the Manuscript” 📺 discussion, where we explored the fascinating myth of Artemis Apankomene.

If you’d like to watch the full conversation, the replay is available for supporting members, along with recordings from previous sessions.

Join me again this Thursday at 6 PM EDT as we continue the journey and turn to the story of Niobe and her children.

🔗 in profile.

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Relief of Artemis and Serapis Marble, 3rd century CE

Serapis and Artemis are depicted together in this marble relief from Roman Ephesus.

Serapis, a Greco-Egyptian god associated with fertility, healing, and the afterlife, was widely worshipped throughout the eastern Mediterranean alongside traditional deities such as Artemis, the city’s patron goddess.

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In 2020 I went to Malta for the first time and, because of the pandemic, there were almost no tourists. This meant I could visit the catacombs all by myself, but it also meant that when I got a lost in the burial labyrinths, there was no one else walking around with me, and every now and then the sensor lights went out.

It also occurred to me, while navigating my way through these ancient tombs, that I was breathing in the ancient particles of the bodies buried here long ago. Creepy? A little.

But what’s life without a little creepy adventure?

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Aphrodite may be one of the most familiar goddesses of the ancient world, yet she remains one of the least understood.

Beyond modern ideas of love and romance lies a goddess connected to creation, fertility, political power, the sea, sacred landscapes, and the forces of desire that shape human lives. Her sanctuaries stood at harbors, city centers, and crossroads, places where beauty, devotion, commerce, and power met.

In this Saturday’s workshop, we’ll explore Aphrodite through mythology, archaeology, and cult practice, including artifacts from ancient Pella. We’ll also examine one of the most controversial questions in the study of ancient religion: did Aphrodite’s priestesses really perform s*xual rites in her temples, or has history misunderstood these women and their roles?

Join me as we uncover the many faces of a goddess whose influence reached far beyond matters of the heart.

Saturday, June 20.

Link in profile, or comment “Aphrodite” below and I’ll send you the registration link.

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Statue of Aphrodite. This is one of the best copies of the “Louvre-Neapolis”, or Aphrodite “Frejus” type.

Aphrodite’s presence is explained by her close association with Isis. 1st - 2nd c. CE now at the Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum

This Saturday, I’ll be exploring many of these themes in my workshop on Aphrodite, including her fertility traditions, the sacred dimensions of s*xuality in the ancient world, and the long debated evidence surrounding the women who served in her sanctuaries.

Together we’ll examine what the ancient sources actually tell us about ritual, devotion, desire, and the role of priestesses within Aphrodite’s cult.

You can find the workshop link in my profile if you’d like to join us.

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