Tuesday, May 5, 2009

What does the greek name, "Artemis," mean?

I need this ASAP, but if would be nice to know after my project is due, too.

What does the greek name, "Artemis," mean?
Robert Graves suggests in his book The Greek Myths (but only in the index and only with a question mark) that it may mean "high source of water." I can't find anything in my Greek dictionary to support this etymology, but Graves may be drawing from some pre-Hellenic word. My dictionary does list the adjective "artemes" (accent on the last syllable, which in which the e is an eta rather than the epsilon after the m in all three words), meaning safe and sound, and the noun "artemia" (accent on the i), meaning security or safety. My fifteen hours of college Greek aren't enough to enable me to know whether there's a connection with the goddess's name or whether those words reached their similar form by some other route!
Reply:It doesn't really mean anything in particular. It's from the ancient Greek goddess, Artemis, who was the goddess of the moon and of the hunt, among other things.
Reply:huntress


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