Artemis

Artemis is the goddess of the Moon and the Hunt.

History
Artemis and Apollo were born as twins to Leto. They grew up together.

Artemis, at age six, while sitting on her knee, asked her father Zeus for six wishes. He loved his little daughter, and was very proud of her. She was his second daughter, and a bright and pretty child; he agreed to grant her her wishes.

Her first wish was to remain chaste for eternity, and never to be confined by marriage. She then asked for lop-eared hounds, stags to lead her chariot, and nymphs to be her hunting companions, 60 from the river and 20 from the ocean.

Also, she asked for a silver bow like her brother Apollo. He granted her the six wishes, also says that he promises to let her retract her wish to remain a virgin if she should wish it.

The Titan's Curse
Artemis makes her first appearance in the The Titan's Curse. She helps Percy and friends when they face the manticore at Westover Hall and goes a mission west to hunt the Ophiotaurus, and promises Percy that she will look for Annabeth. She is captured along the way by the General, Atlas, and is used as a way to lure Percy and his friends West to save Annabeth. Atlas traps Artemis under the sky by forcing Annabeth to hold it. Artemis cannot simply stand by and allow a maiden to die, and she takes the sky from Annabeth.

Percy, Thalia, and Zoë rescue her, Zoe giving her life to stop Atlas from stabbing Artemis. Artemis, Percy, Thalia and Annabeth return to Olympus for the winter solstice. She is the first to suggest plans for war preparations against the Titans, and appears fair and honest, as she is horrified at the vote whether or not to destory Percy, as he risked his life for them.

The Last Olympian
Artemis appears again in The Last Olympian, when she battles Typhon. Her Hunters help the Campers fight against Kronos' army.

Physical description
She can appear as whatever she likes, but chooses to be the average age of her Hunters, which is around twelve. She has auburn colored hair and eyes as silvery as the moon, and is incredibly beautiful. Her cabin is number eight at Camp Half-Blood and since she is a maiden goddess, she has no children and it serves an honorary monument or a refuge for the Hunters when they visit. Her symbol was the silver bow and arrow, and stag.

Personality
Artemis cares deeply for maidens, as they are her kin. She has a group of Hunters she leads, and detests men, and has no respect or liking of them, harboring not totally unwarranted prejudice against them, but thousands of years of outdated prejudices. She is always at odds with her brother Apollo, as he always tends to flirt with her Hunters. Artemis is an excellent hunter, and does not have pity on her prey, or even her own Hunters if they fall in love. Her prejudiced views against men keep her from understanding or experiencing love.

Powers
Artemis can transform other things into something else with a wave of her hand. She is an excellent hunter and might have some form of supernatural tracking ability. She had a chariot that glows like the moon and can shoot silver arrows. Presumable possesses the standard powers of a God.

Relationship with Apollo
Apollo is fond of calling Artemis his 'little sister' even though they are twins. This exasperates her. He doesn't take her seriously, and she in turn, thinks he is immature and childish. However rocky their relationship is, they love each other very much, and Apollo even broke the Ancient Law and gave Percy information that would help him find Artemis when she was kidnapped, saying "no one messes with my little sister".

Relationship with her Hunters
Artemis loves her Hunters, and treats them fairly. They all share a love (or rather obsession) of hunting, and have many adventures with each other. She is however very stern with them. If one falls in love, she is cast out of the Hunt, and abandoned.

Relationship with men
Artemis heavily dislikes boys and men. She often treats them unfairly, like turning them into animals just because they happened across her and her Hunters. The animals she turns them into are usually antelopes, animals that are prey, and easily eaten by predators.

The last boy who saw the Hunters' camp was turned into a jackalope. Artemis says that she enjoys making Jackalopes.

Artemis has a low opinion of men, and it is unknown where she got this prejudiced view of males. It is possible she got it from Hera, her stepmother, as Hera is often angry with her husband and his unfaithfulness. Artemis has had this view from the age six, and has kept herself isolated from the world. In many ways, she is but a girl, as she has had no experiance in the outside world, and still acts like a young girl.

Artemis is somewhat intolerant to others, and does not understand or respect the views of others. It is quite possible Artemis is still a child at heart, and still has a lot of growing up to do, as she has never been challenged about her prejudiced beliefs against men, or anything she disagrees with for that matter.

Film
Artemis will be played by Ona Grauer in the film version of The Lightning Thief.