Wikipedia trail: From Artemis to the lunar effect

Diana Hunting by
Guillaume Seignac.
Source: Wikipedia

Inspired by my recent story, The Sphinx's Riddle, in which a female archer wins the heart of a princess, I started my my Wikipedia search with Artemis. Artemis, Apollo's twin sister, was the patron and protector of young girls and one of the primary goddesses of childbirth and midwifery. Her Roman equivalent is Diana, which was my next click.

Diana is also the virgin goddess of childbirth and midwifery, as well as the goddess of the hunt, the moon, and nature. Varro and Cicero connected her with the shine of the moon — which was my next click.

Supermoon on Nov. 14, 2016.
Source: Wikipedia

The moon, of course, is Earth's only orbital body and the fifth-largest satellite in the solar system. From the Latin word luna, the moon is often associated with lunacy and insanity. Aristotle and Pliny the Elder thought the brain was made mostly of water, and thought the mind was influenced by the moon's power over the tides. Many argue that admissions to psychiatric hospitals, suicides, and homicides increase during the lunar effect of full moons — my next click — although studies have invalidated those claims.

A painting by Caspar David Friedrich.
Source: Wikipedia

The lunar effect is the correlation between the lunar cycle and physiological and psychological changes in humans. One theory for this is evolutionary; many believe there were more lion attacks on humans in the dark hours after the full moon. Another theory is that because humans' bodies are mostly water, the moon affects us similar to how it affects the tides.