Artemis, Orion and the Seven Sisters

Artemis spent much of her time in the forests of Arcady, hunting and exploring. Although she was very beautiful she did not wish to become involved with anyone, so mortal men avoided the woods so as not o upset the huntress. She was attended by seven nymphs who were sisters with whom she laughed and played.

A famous mortal hunter called Orion came to the forest adored the goddess of the chase. Where ever she went, he followed at a distance, never allowing her to see him. One day while Artemis was hunting a stag, Orion trailing behind her, caught site of a flash of white in the bushes. He was curious and went to see what animal it was. They were in fact the seven nymphs wearing white tunics, on hearing Orion's approach they jumped up and fled. Orion saw the flashes of white fleeing, and thought he had disturbed a flock of rare birds, so he chased after them. Even after he realised they were girls, his curiosity overcame him and he continued to chase them.

The nymphs shouted to Artemis to help them, and when the goddess saw Orion's hand reaching out to grab at her friends, she changed them into birds. The seven white doves flew up and up until they reached the sky. At the command of Zeus they became the cluster of seven stars known as the seven sisters, or Pleides. It is said that when Troy was destroyed by the Greeks, the youngest of the sisters, Electra was so distraught that she left her place in the stars. People saw her go in a blaze of light, leaving only six sisters.

Artemis forgave Orion for chasing her nymphs and they became friends and hunting companions. Apollo was angered that his sister had befriended a 'mere mortal', but she ignored him.

One day Apollo saw that Orion was swimming out at sea, and that his sister was sitting on the beach unaware of Orion's location. Apollo approached her and pointed to Orion's head which appeared as a dark object floating in the waves, challenged her to hit it with an arrow before he could. Artemis eagerly accepted the challenge and quickly took aim and fired. The arrow flew true and killed Orion. Once she realised what had happened, Artemis placed Orion's image amongst the stars, near the Seven Sisters.