Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman

From fictional characters like Bridget Jones to feminist icons like Gloria Steinem, Jean Bolen’s bestselling classic Goddesses in Everywoman has been widely read and soundly praised.

Now comes a new book written in the same spirit and with the same vitality. In Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman, Bolen invites women and girls to discover the tenacity and courage of the Artemis archetype and how it can be tapped to live authentically.

To tell the story, Bolen delves deeply into the myth of Atalanta, the famous hunter and runner in ancient Greek mythology, a mortal woman who is identified with Artemis the Greek Goddess of the Hunt and Moon. Atalanta began life abandoned and left to die because she was born a girl. She faced the Calydon Boar and drew first blood; she was the runner who would demand to be beaten in a footrace by the man who could claim her as his bride. She exemplifies the indomitable spirit in competent, courageous girls and in the women they become. This is grit, the passion and persistence to go the distance, to survive, and to succeed.

She includes many real-life stories as well as mythological and fictional examples of women who are similar to Atalanta, including among others Princess Merida from the animated film Brave and Katniss from The Hunger Games. Artemis and Atalanta are the means through which readers can navigate their own personal exploration to become their authentic selves. Bolen dedicates this book to women and girls who embody the archetype of Artemis, who discover her uncrushable spirit in themselves or others.