A Roman priest pours wine onto the Palatine earth, calling on Luna to receive the offering. A Greek woman in Brauron fastens a saffron robe on a young girl playing the bear for Artemis. Both are addressing the moon, but they are not speaking to the same goddess. Luna and Artemis are both lunar deities, but they belong to different pantheons with distinct origins, domains, and cult practices. Luna is the Roman personification of the moon itself, a celestial power without myth. Artemis is the Greek goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and childbirth who also carries the moon as one of her many attributes. The Roman conquest of Greece brought them into contact, but syncretism never fully erased their differences.
Definition: What Each Goddess Actually Was
Luna is the Latin name for the moon as a divine being. She had no myths of her own, no lovers, no children, no adventures. She was the moon itself: the light that measured time, governed tides, and marked the Roman calendar. Her Greek counterpart was Selene, not Artemis. The Romans identified Luna with Selene early on, but they never confused her with Diana, who was their direct equivalent of Artemis.
Artemis is a far more complex figure. She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo, born on Delos. She is the virgin huntress, the protector of wild animals, the goddess of transitions for girls entering womanhood, and the bringer of sudden death to women. The moon is her symbol, but it is not her identity. She is not the moon; she is the goddess who drives the moon’s chariot across the sky.
History and Origins: Two Different Roots
Luna’s cult in Rome is ancient. A temple to Luna on the Aventine Hill was dedicated in 490 BCE according to the historian Livy (Ab Urbe Condita 3.31). The temple was associated with the Kalends, the first day of the Roman month when the new moon was visible. Another temple on the Palatine was built later, possibly by Servius Tullius in the 6th century BCE. Luna had no mythology, only ritual. The Romans prayed to her for favorable weather for crops and for safe childbirth, but they did not tell stories about her.
Artemis’s origins go back to the Mycenaean period. Linear B tablets from Pylos (13th century BCE) record offerings to a goddess named “Artemis” or “Artemitos.” Her most famous sanctuary was at Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor, where she was worshipped as a mother goddess figure, covered in eggs or breasts, a form that predates the classical Greek Artemis. The classical Artemis of the Homeric Hymns (7th century BCE) is the virgin huntress, but the Ephesian Artemis was a fertility deity. The two were considered the same goddess by the Greeks, but their cults differed dramatically.
When Rome conquered Greece in the 2nd century BCE, they absorbed Greek mythology but maintained their own state cults. They equated Artemis with Diana, not Luna. Luna remained a separate goddess, often paired with Sol (the sun) in Roman prayers. The poet Ovid (Fasti 1.55) mentions Luna as the goddess of the month, but he never conflates her with Diana.
Symbolism and Meaning: What They Represented
Luna’s symbolism is straightforward: the moon in its phases. She is often depicted with a crescent moon on her head, driving a two-horse chariot (biga) across the sky. Her symbols are the crescent, the torch, and the veil of night. She represents the measurable, cyclical nature of time. For Romans, Luna was the regulator of the calendar, the marker of festivals, and the witness of oaths sworn by moonlight.
Artemis’s symbolism is layered. The crescent moon on her forehead is one of many attributes. She carries a bow and arrows, wears a short hunting tunic, and is accompanied by a deer or a pack of hounds. The moon for Artemis is not just a celestial body but a symbol of her power over the night, her virginity (the moon is untouched), and her role as a light for hunters. She is also associated with the bear, the stag, and the cypress tree. The Ephesian Artemis wears a mural crown (city walls) and a necklace of acorns, linking her to civic protection and wild nature.
The difference in meaning is profound. Luna is the moon. Artemis is a goddess who uses the moon. A Roman praying to Luna addressed the moon itself. A Greek praying to Artemis addressed a complex personality who could bring both the hunt and the moon.
Practices and Traditions: How You Spoke to Each
Roman worship of Luna was calendrical and public. On the Kalends of each month, the Pontifex Minor observed the new moon from the Capitoline Hill and announced the number of days until the Nones. The Flamen Martialis (priest of Mars) sacrificed a white sow to Luna on the Aventine. Households might offer incense to Luna at the new moon, but there was no mystery cult, no ecstatic rites, no initiation.
Artemis had a rich variety of cult practices. At Brauron in Attica, young girls aged five to ten served the goddess by playing the bear (arkteia), wearing saffron robes and mimicking bears to appease Artemis after a plague. At Ephesus, the cult was orgiastic and processional, with eunuch priests (megabyzoi) and a massive temple that was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Hunters dedicated the hides and antlers of their kills to Artemis Agrotera. Women in childbirth called on Artemis Eileithyia for safe delivery. The goddess was approached for many reasons, not just lunar ones.
The human consequence: a Roman’s relationship with Luna was distant and formal, tied to the state calendar. A Greek’s relationship with Artemis was intimate and situational, tied to life transitions, hunting success, and local tradition.
Comparisons: Luna, Selene, Artemis, Diana
The four goddesses form a web of identification and distinction. Luna and Selene are nearly identical: both are personifications of the moon, both have chariots, both lack mythology. The Romans simply borrowed Selene’s myths for Luna, but they never developed a native mythology for her.
Artemis and Diana are the true equivalents. Diana was an ancient Italic goddess of the hunt and the moon, worshipped at Aricia (Lake Nemi) with a cult that included a priest who killed his predecessor. The Romans identified Diana with Artemis, and the two became nearly interchangeable. Diana’s temple on the Aventine was dedicated in the 6th century BCE, and she was also associated with the moon.
So where does Luna fit? In Roman religion, Luna is a distinct deity from Diana. The poet Horace (Carmina 4.6) invokes Luna and Diana separately. The emperor Augustus dedicated a temple to Luna on the Palatine, not to Diana. The confusion arises because later Roman writers, influenced by Greek mythology, sometimes called Artemis “Luna” in poetic contexts. But the official cults kept them separate.
Common Misconceptions
Misconception: Artemis is the Greek equivalent of Luna. No. Artemis is the Greek equivalent of Diana. Luna’s Greek equivalent is Selene. The two were sometimes conflated in late antiquity, but classical sources distinguish them.
Misconception: Artemis is only a moon goddess. She is primarily a goddess of the hunt and wilderness. The moon is one of her symbols, not her sole domain. In the Homeric Hymn to Artemis, she is described as “delighting in arrows” and “roaming the mountains,” not riding the moon.
Misconception: Luna had a mythology. She did not. Unlike Artemis, who has birth stories, love affairs (with Orion, though versions vary), and conflicts, Luna appears in no myths. She is a personified force, not a character.
Misconception: The Romans worshipped Artemis. They worshipped Diana, whom they identified with Artemis. But they also worshipped Luna separately. The two cults coexisted.
FAQ
Is Artemis the same as Luna? No. Artemis is a Greek goddess with a complex mythology and multiple domains. Luna is a Roman personification of the moon with no mythology. They are not equivalent.
What is the difference between Luna and Selene? Very little. Selene is the Greek personification of the moon, and Luna is the Roman equivalent. Both are essentially the same figure, though Selene has a few myths (her love for Endymion) that Luna lacks.
Why is Artemis associated with the moon if she is not a moon goddess? The association comes from her role as a goddess of the night and her identification with the crescent moon on her headdress. In later Greek and Roman poetry, she was sometimes called “Phoebe” (the bright one) and linked to the moon, but her primary identity remained the hunt.
Did the Romans have a festival for Luna? Yes. The Kalends of each month were sacred to Luna, and a major festival called the Luna Sacrum was held on August 24, though details are sparse. The Temple of Luna on the Aventine hosted annual sacrifices.
Closing
Luna and Artemis share the moon, but they do not share a story. One is the light itself, measured and ritualized. The other is a huntress who carries that light as a weapon and a crown. Understanding the difference matters for anyone working with lunar deities in practice or study. For a deeper look at how the moon appears across traditions, explore our lunar deities guide. If you are curious about the symbols that distinguish these goddesses, the glossary of lunar symbols may help. And for the full history of Artemis and her cult, see our Artemis profile.