Temple of Artemis image carried through the streets and surrounded by maidens. In the Roman Imperial era, the emperor Commodus lent his name to the festival games, and might have sponsored them. From the Greek point of view, the Ephesian Artemis is a distinctive form of their goddess Artemis. In Greek cult and myth, Artemis is the twin of Apollo, a virgin huntress who supplanted the Titan Selene as goddess of the Moon. At Ephesus, a goddess whom the Greeks associated with Artemis was venerated in an archaic, pre-Hellenic cult image that was carved of wood (a "xoanon") and kept decorated with jewelry.
Diana and Endymion a chaste goddess. She is depicted here as a huntress wearing a short robe, arriving from the sky, seated on clouds, in a chariot drawn by horses, while Endymion's body is depicted naked. Cupid points an arrow towards her, ready to shoot. Diana has her gaze fixed on the sleeping youth's body, with a mixture of desire and despair. According to the legend Diana used to come and kiss Endymion when he was asleep on the top of the mountain each night. Diana's light touch partly drew Endymion from his slumber and he caught a brief glance of her. Incredulous