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THE UNEQUAL TWINS: ARTEMIS AND APOLLO IN ATHENIAN DRAMA AND ICONOGRAPHY

Author: Sarit Stern | Year: 2017

Artemis and Apollo were both important deities in Athens, but while in Attic vase iconography they are repeatedly portrayed alongside each other, in Athenian drama Apollo is mostly depicted by himself and Artemis’ presence is considerably smaller. The dissertation argues that the discrepancy between the two media derives from the strong Homeric influence on the playwrights, since the Homeric corpus, especially the Iliad, portrays Artemis as a weak and marginalized goddess, who does not belong on the battlefield and who punishes heroes rather than helping them. However, while Homer’s depiction canonized in many ways Artemis’ literary portrayal, it did not have a similar effect on the vase-painters, who present Artemis repeatedly and favorably.