Agrotera

Agrotera is not an independent origin figure but an epithet of Artemis, arising from the noun agros (field/countryside/hunt) to designate Artemis in her function as huntress and protector of hunters. Tradition at Athens held that Artemis first hunted at Agrae on the Ilissos after coming from Delos; the epithet therefore became attached to a local temple cult and to ritual obligations tied to military vows (notably the vow before Marathon).

As an aspect of Artemis, Agrotera had no distinct independent form in the sources; iconography corresponds to Artemis as a bow-bearing huntress. The cult at Agrae included a 5th-century BC temple with a statue carrying a bow (the temple later fell into ruin; sources note its historical existence and modern interest in the site).

Sources attribute to Agrotera the functions associated with Artemis: oversight of hunting and protection of hunters, and the role of recipient of slaughter-sacrifices (sphagion) tied to martial activity. In Attica the epithet is invoked in vows before battle and in annual thanksgiving sacrifices (Agroteras Thusia) commemorating military victory (e.g., Marathon). The supplied sources do not ascribe independent supernatural acts such as possession or shape‑changing to Agrotera beyond Artemis' general sphere.