If I Were A Goddess

As I sit here typing this post, I can’t help but smile at everything that transpired the last month and all that I have accomplished. Yes, a sense of accomplishment is what I feel when I think about July. Despite, the fact that I may not have posted much on my blog, I am proud of the amount of writing I did. I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo and contributed a total of 51K words into my WIP. The debut novel that I am currently working on. 51 thousand words, y’all! I am excited about where my book is headed, it has changed drastically from what I had initially planned, but I am really enjoying writing it. I am also glad to finally be able to give my writing the time and effort it deserves.
While that alone feels like a huge achievement, I have also started writing for a new series of short stories titled Hunt or Be Hunted. This is a writing project that I find very interesting. If you have been following my blog from the beginning may already know of my love for mythology, especially Greek Mythology.
When I thought of which Goddess’ story I wanted to tell, it was Artemis—the Goddess of Hunt, Wild, and Moon who came to mind. I was ecstatic because Artemis is perfect voice for me! I have always felt that I’d identify more with a Goddess who was both strong and independent, and made her own name in the world. For those who are not familiar with Greek Mythology, allow me to enlighten you on Artemis, her characteristics, and her achievements.

Greek Goddess of the Hunt, Forests and Hills, the Moon, Archery

Artemis is known as the Olympian goddess of the hunt and is one of the most respected of all the ancient Greek deities. She was the daughter of Zeus, King of the Gods, and the Titaness Leto and she has a twin brother, the god Apollo. Angered by her husband’s infidelity, Hera, Zeus’ wife and Queen of the Gods, hunted Leto all over the planet using her son Python, she forbade Leto to give birth anywhere on solid earth. However, Leto got to the island of Delos and gave birth to Artemis while balancing herself on an olive branch.
When Hera heard this, she prohibited her daughter Eileithyia, the Goddess of childbirth, from further helping Leto. This postponed the birth of Apollo for nine days. Artemis as a baby miraculously learned the art of midwifery and helped Leto finally deliver her brother. This earned her the title of Goddess of childbirth as well.
Artemis was not only the Goddess of the hunt, but she was also known as the Goddess of wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, and chastity. When Artemis was still a little maid, she asked from her father Zeus to grant her wish to remain chaste and a maiden for eternity. Zeus gave her wish with the caveat that she could decide otherwise at any time, however the Goddess, just like Athena and Hestia remained chaste for eternity. Artemis didn’t only take care of her own purity; she also defended the innocence of her worshippers. And was merciless with anyone who tried to take it from her or her priestesses. She was also the protector of young children and was known to bring and relieve disease in women. In literature and art, she was depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrow. Sculptors, artists, and poets depicted Artemis as a young, beautiful and vigorous huntress carrying a quiver with arrows and holding a bow, typically wearing a short knee-high tunic and often accompanied by a stag, deer, or her hunting dogs.
While this is the story of Artemis from Greek history, All In The Pantheon takes a new turn by asking the question what the Gods, Goddesses, and muses would do if Zeus, the King of Gods, were to send the deities back to earth and as them to find mortal jobs. As such, I get to decide what Artemis storyline would be as a goddess in the 21st century. I am so excited about being the scribe for Artemis and writing her story. Not only do I get to have fun writing for the project, but I also get to learn a lot. As I mentioned above, this is a venture with 30+ authors, most of them published. I am learning so much about the writing process, editing, novel writing, and publishing being a part of this fantastic group. The admins and editors of The Pantheon are always sharing publishing news, and short story/poetry contests and the likes to help us improve as well as get our work out in the world. How cool is that?

So far, I have 5-6 short stories published for Artemis storyline. I am writing more about Artemis in the modern world and her pet dragon, Sayeh. Yep, you read that right, Sayeh is a dragon and she’s amazing!
Can you tell I am super excited about this? Leave me a comment on what you think!
Until next post, this is Rashmi aka Artemis signing off!