Cat his "History of Animals" that "female cats are naturally lecherous." The Greeks later syncretized their own goddess Artemis with the Egyptian goddess Bastet, adopting Bastet's associations with cats and ascribing them to Artemis. In Ovid's "Metamorphoses", when the gods flee to Egypt and take animal forms, the goddess Diana (the Roman equivalent of Artemis) turns into a cat. Cats eventually displaced ferrets as the pest control of choice because they were more pleasant to have around the house and were more enthusiastic hunters of mice. During the Middle Ages, many of Artemis's associations with cats were grafted onto the Virgin
Temple of Artemis, Jerash Temple of Artemis, Jerash The Jerash Temple of Artemis was a Roman temple in Jerash, Jordan. The temple was built on one of the highest points and dominated the whole city. Ruins of the temple are still one of the most remarkable monuments left of the ancient city of Gerasa (Jerash). Artemis was the patron goddess of the city and was highly esteemed by the Hellenistic population of Gerasa, while the Semitic part of the population preferred Zeus. Construction of the temple was finished in CE 150, during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius. The building had a hexastyle portico