Artemis was the goddess of liminal phases and spaces, and her sanctuaries were often located at the boundaries of communities or areas where there was no clear differentiation between elements, such as marshes. In several cases, however, sanctuaries of the goddess could be found very close to cities or settlements, or even inside them. One such sanctuary was that of Artemis Soteira, located in the Kerameikos of Athens. Another was that of Artemis Orthia, close to the village of Limnai. A third was located within the city of Messene.
In this paper, I want to discuss the role of such sanctuaries within the urban fabric and to see them as spaces where religion as a lived experience intersected with urbanity. While this was more obvious in the days of festivals, especially through processions, they remained spaces where one could live the experience of communicating with the divine throughout the year. They also served as meeting places for the community or for select members of religious councils. Thus, the sanctuaries became embedded into the life of a community in a way that seemingly contradicted the liminal and marginal nature of the cult of the goddess. The tension between urbanity and liminality created the experience of the cult space as a living and lived space.