Apollo and Artemis watch Kadmos slaying the dragon,[286] and one or other of them is present at the liberating of Prometheus[287]; Apollo alone is seen with Oedipus and Teiresias,[288] and watches the slaying of the Sphinx by the former.[289] Among Trojan scenes he is sometimes present at the Judgment of Paris,[290] also at the sacrifice of Iphigeneia, the pursuit of Troilos, the combats of Achilles and Ajax with Hector, and the recognition of Aithra by her sons.[291] He is, of course, frequently seen in subjects from the Oresteia, both in Tauris and at Delphi,[292] and at the death of Neoptolemos before the latter temple.[293] The pair are also seen at the carrying off of Basile by Echelos (see p. 140).[294]
The ξόανον, or primitive cult-statue, of Apollo is sometimes represented; in one case Kassandra takes refuge from Ajax before it, instead of the usual statue of Athena.[295]
The appearances of =Artemis=, as distinct from Apollo, need not detain us long; she is sometimes found in mythological scenes, but frequently as a single figure, of which there are some fine examples.[296] A winged goddess grasping the neck or paws of an animal or bird with either hand frequently occurs on early vases, and is usually interpreted as Artemis in her character of πότνια θηρῶν or mistress of the brute creation, sometimes called the Asiatic or Persian Artemis.[297] On an early Boeotian vase (with reliefs) at Athens is a curious representation of Artemis Diktynna, a quasi-marine form of the goddess, originally Cretan (?); on the front of her body is represented a fish, and on the either side of her is a lion.[298] As a single figure she appears either with bow or quiver, or with lyre, sometimes accompanied by a stag or hind, or dogs[299]; she also rides on a deer[300] or shoots at a stag.[301] Or, again, she is attended by a cortège of Nymphs[302] or rides in a chariot.[303] Like that of Apollo, her ξόανον is sometimes introduced into a scene as local colouring.[304]
The myth with which she is chiefly associated is that of Aktaeon, which may find a place here, though in most cases Aktaeon alone is represented, being devoured by his hounds.[305] A curious subject on a vase at Athens appears to be the burial of Aktaeon, Artemis being present.[306] She is also represented at the sacrifice of Iphigeneia, for whom a stag was substituted by her agency,[307] and in connection with the same story at her shrine in Tauris.[308] She is especially associated with Apollo in such scenes as the contest with and flaying of Marsyas,[309] the rape of the Delphic tripod by Herakles[310] and the subsequent reconciliation,[311] or the appearance of Orestes at Delphi.[312] The two deities sometimes accompany nuptial processions in chariots, Artemis as _pronuba_ holding a torch, but it is not easy to say whether these scenes refer to the nuptials of Zeus and Hera or are of ordinary significance.[313] A scene in which she pursues a woman and a child with bow and arrow may have reference to the slaughter of the Niobids.[314]