Editing Britomartis (section)

==Mythology==
The goddess was frequently portrayed on Cretan coinage, either as herself or as Diktynna, the goddess of [[Mount Dikte]], [[Zeus]]' birthplace. As Diktynna, she was depicted as a winged goddess with a human face, standing atop the mountain and grasping an animal in each hand. This imagery is directly related to the ''[[Potnia Theron]]'' [[Motif (visual arts)|motif]], also known as the mistress of animals. She also occasionally appeared on coinage with a crescent moon, likely due to her close relationship with Artemis, goddess of the moon.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Britomartis |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=britomartis-bio-1 |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=Perseus Digital Library}}</ref>

By [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] and Roman times, Britomartis was given a genealogical setting that cast her into a Classical context:

<blockquote>Britomartis, who is also called Dictynna, the myths relate, was born at Caeno in Crete of Zeus and [[Carme (mythology)|Carmê]], the daughter of [[Eubuleus|Eubulus]] who was the son of [[Demeter]]; she invented the nets (dictya) which are used in hunting.<ref name="5.76.3">[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#76 5.76.3]</ref></blockquote>

One of the main [[Myth|myths]] surrounding Britomartis concerns her being pursued by [[Minos|King Minos]]. According to [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]], Britomartis was a nymph and huntress much beloved by Artemis. Minos took interest in her and pursued her for nine months. She continually fled his advances, and to escape, she at last leapt into the sea (possibly from Mount Dikte) and landed in fishermen's nets. She became entangled but was rescued by Artemis, who then made her a goddess.<ref name="5.76.3" /> In his third hymn to Artemis, [[Callimachus]] tells a similar tale, and claims it is the source of the name and title Diktynna, "Lady of the Nets." Some tellings instead claim that she was taken by fishermen to mainland Greece, therefore explaining the spread of her cult to Greece. [[Diodorus Siculus]] found it less than credible:

<blockquote>But those men who tell the tale that she has been named Dictynna because she fled into some fishermen's nets when she was pursued by Minos, who would have ravished her, have missed the truth; for it is not a probable story that the goddess should ever have got into so helpless a state that she would have required the aid that men can give, being as she is the daughter of the greatest one of the gods.<ref name="5.76.3"/></blockquote>

Another version of the myth claims Britomartis vowed to live in [[Virgin goddess|perpetual maidenhood]], and that she was a frequent wanderer before eventually settling in Crete. It claims she was born in [[Phoenicia]], travelled to [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]] and visited the daughters of the river god [[Erasinos]], went to [[Cephalonia]] and was worshiped under the name [[Laphria (festival)|Laphria]], and then finally arrived in Crete and was pursued by Minos. This version of the myth additionally has her flee onto the island of Aegina, where she was then built a temple and worshipped as a goddess.<ref name=":2">[[Antoninus Liberalis]], [https://topostext.org/work/216#40 40]</ref>  

[[Strabo]] notes she was venerated as Diktynna primarily in western Crete, in the regions of [[Cydonia (ancient Greece)|Cydonia]] and Lysos, where there was a ''Diktynnaion'', or [[temple]] of Diktynna. Occasionally she was conflated with Artemis or Athena as the same goddess, with Solinus explicitly identifying her as the Cretan Artemis.<ref>Noted by [[H. J. Rose]], ''A Handbook of Greek Mythology'' (New York) 1959:117, citing [[Theodor Mommsen]]'s edition, 1864.</ref> Diodorus suggests that since "she passed her time in the company of Artemis," that this was the "reason why some men think Diktynna and Artemis are one and the same goddess."<ref name="5.76.3" /> She has also been associated with [[Hecate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Euripides, Hippolytus, line 141 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Eur.%20Hipp.%20141&lang=original |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>  <!--"Britomartis was patron of mountains, shores, nets and ports."-is this any more than a modern extrapolation of the myth elements?-->