Artemis was the Greek goddess of hunting, wild nature, and chastity. The daughter of Zeus and sister of Apollo, Artemis was regarded as a patron of girls and young women and a protectress during childbirth. She was worshipped across the Greek world, but her most famous cult site was as a fertility goddess at the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. To the Romans, the goddess was known as Diana.

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Given such gifts as a silver bow made by the Cyclopes and a pack of hunting dogs from Pan, Artemis was, then, regarded as a goddess of hunting and wild nature and a mistress of the animals. For this reason, she is associated with wild animals (especially young ones), forests, and the moon. As a goddess of chastity, childbirth, and fertility, Artemis Kourotrophos was the patron of young women, particularly brides-to-be, who dedicated their toys to her as symbolic of the transition to full adulthood and the assumption of a wife’s responsibilities.