The place name Parthenos refers to parthenogenesis. Also, Parthenos
was an epithet for Athena. It means virgin. Of course, our conception
of virginity is a little different from the ancient greeks. I believe
"virgin" could refer to any unmarried female. I suppose most of these
virgins were also virgins under our definition as well, but the
unmarried part is the key.
The reason Artemis is a "virgin" is that she made Zeus promise that she
would never have to marry, and therefore never have to be subject to a
man. This is why so many of these Greek goddesses are
virgins...because if they were married they'd be subject to male
domination, something that was hard for the patriarchal greeks to imagine.
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Darryl
Think Galactically -- Act Terrestrially
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