Artemis was the daughter of Zeus, the chief Greek god, and Leto, a Titan goddess. She was also the twin sister of Apollo, the god of prophecy, music, healing, and light. Apollo was associated with the sun, while Artemis was associated with the moon. It was believed that she helped women during childbirth. In addition, Artemis was a protector of animals and the young. Because of this, she was often pictured with a deer. Although Artemis loved animals, she also hunted them. Artemis was sometimes shown by artists with her hunting dog and silver bow, a weapon used to shoot arrows. She lived in the woodlands, where she was attended by beautiful women called nymphs.

There are many stories involving Artemis. It was said that she loved the giant huntsman Orion and lived with him in the forest. After some time, Artemis became jealous because she thought that Orion loved another woman. In revenge, Artemis shot Orion with an arrow. Another version of this story says that it was Apollo who was jealous over Artemis' love of Orion, so he tricked her into shooting Orion. In both stories, Orion was placed among the stars after his death, where he remains as a constellation.

In another story Zeus loved Callisto, one of Artemis' hunting companions. Zeus turned Callisto into a bear to hide her from his jealous wife, Hera. In other versions it was Artemis or Hera who turned her into a bear because they were angry about her relationship with Zeus. In all the stories, after Callisto became a bear, Artemis accidentally killed her while hunting. After Callisto's death, Zeus placed her among the stars as the constellation Ursa Major, or the Great Bear.