Artemis Lydia as "Artimus". Georgios Babiniotis, while accepting that the etymology is unknown, also states that the name is already attested in Mycenean Greek and is possibly of Pre-Greek origin. Ancient Greek writers, by way of folk etymology, and some modern scholars, have linked Artemis (Doric "Artamis") to ἄρταμος, "artamos", i.e. "butcher" or, like Plato did in "Cratylus", to , "artemḗs", i.e. "safe", "unharmed", "uninjured", "pure", "the stainless maiden". Various conflicting accounts are given in Classical Greek mythology regarding the birth of Artemis and Apollo, her twin brother. However, in terms of parentage, all accounts agree that she was the daughter
Modern understanding of Greek mythology and the Norns of Norse mythology. Archaeology and mythography, on the other hand, has revealed that the Greeks were inspired by some of the civilizations of Asia Minor and the Near East. Adonis seems to be the Greek counterpart — more clearly in cult than in myth — of a Near Eastern dying god. His name is related to the Semitic invocation "adon" (Lord) and appears in other cultures as Dumuzi, Tammuz or Attis. Cybele is rooted in Anatolian culture, and much of Aphrodite's iconography springs from the Semitic goddesses Inanna, Ishtar and Astarte. The theogonic myths current in the