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researchers as the Rankenfrau, has been connected by several researchers to
birth, rebirth, and fertility.? In the system of astrology, Cancer is ruled by
the Moon,* so the figure refers to the astrological sign related to Cancer, too.
However, there is more here. According to Porphyry, the Moon is the guardian
of birth.*° So this image depicts a birth scene, the moment when the soul
enters the gate of the Cancer, which is not represented here, but we can see
the Moon guarding it behind the figure.
Artemis was closely connected with childbirth. The first act in her life
was to help her mother give birth to her brother. Pregnancy and childbirth
were some of the biggest crises in the lives of women in Antiquity, so it is no
accident that they ardently prayed to Artemis before, during, and after these
crucial moments of their lives. Almost every specific moment of childbirth
had a specific Artemis: they prayed to Artemis Soodina to soothe the pains
of labour," to Artemis Praiai in case of twins,*’ and to Artemis Hemere for
a successful birth. Mothers called the goddess Artemis Lochia, Eulochia, and
Eileithyia when expressing their gratitude for a successful childbirth.**
On the basis of her dress ornaments and the gates of the souls’ incarnations,
I suppose the goddess represents a midwife. She thus helps the soul’s
incarnation and the birth of the physical body at the same time. Both in literal
and figurative senses, she is the gate through which the souls can cross over
from their astral condition to their lives on earth.
Concerning other details (the Cancer, female figures, and the Rankenfrau),
I arrived at a conclusion similar to Portefaix’s in the case of the bee, bulls, and
the moon, at least, insofar as some of the Artemis Ephesia statues’ adornments
are connected with birth.
The following question is whether these allegorical interpretations of birth
and rebirth symbols are related to the mysteries of the goddess, as Portefaix
assumed. I think it is undeniable that there are certain facts which confirm
this hypothesis.
The mysteries of Artemis Ephesia were celebrated on her “birthday” festivals,
and this event and the goddess could be connected not only with birth, but
33" Maria W. Stoop, Floral Figurines from South Italy, Assen, Royal Vangorcum Ltd, 1960, 48.
Günther Schörner, Römische Rankenfriese: Untersuchungen zur Baudekoration der späten
Republik und der frühen und mittleren Kaiserzeit im Westen des Imperium Romanum,
Mainz am Rhein, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1995, 115-116.
Ptol. Tetr. 1, 17; Tamsyn Barton, Ancient Astrology, London — New York, Routledge, 1994,
108; Roger Beck, A Brief History of Ancient Astrology, Oxford, Blackwell, 2007, 85.
35 Porph. Antr. 18.
36 IG VII, 3407.
37 IG VII, 3101.
38 Susan Guettel Cole, Landscapes, Gender, and Ritual Space, Berkeley etc., University
of California Press, 2004, 212. Cole made a list of the Artemis-representations in which
the goddess is assisting at a birth. The list was based on the catalogue established by
Pingiatoglou, Eileithyia, Konigshausen, 1982.
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