Vatican Museums

Artemis of Ephesus

Greek goddess of hunting, wild animals and maidens, daughter of Zeus and twin sister of Apollo. He had in Ephesus, an ancient Greek city, one of the most important temples of the ancient world and part of the seven wonders.

Artemis was also associated with fertility because she was the goddess of childbirth and protector of young girls. In Ephesus, his cult is mixed with the Lady of Ephesus, a local deity who was seen as a mother goddess. That is why this work is represented with those characteristics of protuberances in the chest, which have often been identified with multiple breasts that symbolize fertility. Another interpretation is that these protuberances are not such but bull testicles covering your torso.