Britomartis
(sweet maiden)
The daughter
of Zeus and Carme, who
became the Cretan goddess of fishermen and hunters. Artemis
loved her deeply, but Britomartis had no relationships with men. King Minos
wanted her, but she refused him. He then started chasing her, and when he
had almost caught up with her she leapt from Mt. Dictynnaeus into the sea.
There she got caught in a fishing net and was rescued the last minute by Artemis
who made her a goddess.
Later Britomartis was also worshipped on Aegina
where her temple, Aphaea, can still be seen.
Another version tells us she was Phoenician, and that she lived on Cephalonia,
where she was worshipped as Laphria, before she went to Crete.
