Diana (mythology)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Diana is a goddess in
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
and Hellenistic religion, primarily considered a patroness of the
countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...
,
hunters Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
,
crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...
, and the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
. She is equated with the
Greek goddess A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of d ...
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
, and absorbed much of Artemis' mythology early in Roman history, including a birth on the island of
Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...
to parents
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
and
Latona In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto (; grc-gre, Λητώ , ''Lētṓ'', or , ''Lātṓ'' in Doric Greek) is a goddess and the mother of Apollo, the god of music, and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.Hesiod, ''Theogony'404–409/ref ...
, and a twin brother,
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
,''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'',
The Book People The Book People Ltd was a UK online bookseller founded in 1988. It went into administration in 2019 and was formally dissolved in 2022. History The Book People started business in 1988, initially in the Guildford, Surrey area. It expanded rap ...
, Haydock, 1995, p. 215.
though she had an independent origin in Italy. Diana is considered a virgin goddess and protector of childbirth. Historically, Diana made up a triad with two other Roman deities: Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and
Virbius upright=1.3, ''The Death of Hippolytus'', by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912) In Greek mythology, Hippolytus ( el, Ἱππόλυτος'', Hippolytos'' 'unleasher of horses'; ) is the son of Theseus and either Hippolyta or Antiope. His d ...
, the woodland god. Diana is revered in modern
neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
religions including
Roman neopaganism Revivals of the ancient Roman polytheistic religion have occurred in several forms in modern times. Seeking to revive traditional Roman cults and mores, they have been known under various names including cultus deorum Romanorum (worship of the ...
,
Stregheria Stregheria () is the root form of witchcraft originating in Southern Europe, but also includes Italian American witchcraft. Stregheria is sometimes referred to as ''La Vecchia Religione'' (" the Old Religion"). The word '' stregheria'' is an archa ...
, and
Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...
. In the ancient, medieval, and modern periods, Diana has been considered a
triple deity A triple deity is a deity with three apparent forms that function as a singular whole. Such deities may sometimes be referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune, triadic, or as a trinity. The number three has a long history ...
, merged with a goddess of the moon (
Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...
/
Selene In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (; grc-gre, Σελήνη , meaning "Moon"''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη) is the goddess and the personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughter o ...
) and the underworld (usually
Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...
).Green, C. M. C. (2007). ''Roman Religion and the Cult of Diana at Aricia''. New York: Cambridge University Press.


Etymology

The name ''Dīāna'' probably derives from Latin ''dīus'' ('godly'), ultimately from
Proto-Italic The Proto-Italic language is the ancestor of the Italic languages, most notably Latin and its descendants, the Romance languages. It is not directly attested in writing, but has been reconstructed to some degree through the comparative method. P ...
*''divios'' (/''diwios''/), meaning 'divine, heavenly'. It stems from
Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
''*diwyós'' ('divine, heavenly'), formed with the stem ''*dyew-'' ('daylight sky') attached the thematic suffix -''yós''.
Cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
s appear in Myceanean Greek ''di-wi-ja'', in
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
''dîos'' (δῖος; 'belonging to heaven, godlike'), and in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''divyá'' ('heavenly' or 'celestial'). The ancient Latin writers
Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
and
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
considered the etymology of Dīāna as allied to that of ''dies'' and connected to the shine of the Moon, noting that one of her titles is Diana Lucifera ("light-bearer").
... people regard Diana and the moon as one and the same. ... the moon ''(luna)'' is so called from the verb to shine ''(lucere)''. Lucina is identified with it, which is why in our country they invoke Juno Lucina in childbirth, just as the Greeks call on Diana the Light-bearer. Diana also has the name ''Omnivaga'' ("wandering everywhere"), not because of her hunting but because she is numbered as one of the seven planets; her name Diana derives from the fact that she turns darkness into daylight ''(dies)''. She is invoked at childbirth because children are born occasionally after seven, or usually after nine, lunar revolutions ... :--
Quintus Lucilius Balbus Quintus Lucilius Balbus (fl. 100 BC) was a Stoic philosopher and a pupil of Panaetius. Balbus appeared to Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosophe ...
as recorded by
Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
and translated by P.G. Walsh. '' De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of the Gods)'', Book II, Part ii, Section c


Description


As a goddess of the countryside

The persona of Diana is complex, and contains a number of archaic features. Diana was originally considered to be a goddess of the wilderness and of the hunt, a central sport in both Roman and Greek culture. Early Roman inscriptions to Diana celebrated her primarily as a huntress and patron of hunters. Later, in the
Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
, Diana came to be equally or more revered as a goddess not of the wild woodland but of the "tame" countryside, or ''
villa rustica Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large ...
'', the idealization of which was common in Greek thought and poetry. This dual role as goddess of both civilization and the wild, and therefore the civilized countryside, first applied to the Greek goddess
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
(for example, in the 3rd century BCE poetry of
Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ...
). By the 3rd century CE, after Greek influence had a profound impact on Roman religion, Diana had been almost fully combined with Artemis and took on many of her attributes, both in her spiritual domains and in the description of her appearance. The Roman poet
Nemesianus Marcus Aurelius Olympius Nemesianus was a Roman poet thought to have been a native of Carthage and flourished about AD 283. He was a popular poet at the court of the Roman emperor Carus (Historia Augusta, ''Carus'', 11). Works The works belo ...
wrote a typical description of Diana: She carried a bow and a quiver full of golden arrows, wore a golden cloak, purple half-boots, and a belt with a jeweled buckle to hold her tunic together, and wore her hair gathered in a ribbon. By the 5th century CE, almost a millennia after her cult's entry into Rome, the philosopher
Proclus Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...
could still characterize Diana as "the inspective guardian of every thing rural, horepresses every thing rustic and uncultivated."


As a triple goddess

Diana was often considered an aspect of a triple goddess, known as ''Diana triformis'': Diana,
Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...
, and
Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...
. According to historian C.M. Green, "these were neither different goddesses nor an amalgamation of different goddesses. They were Diana...Diana as huntress, Diana as the moon, Diana of the underworld." At her
sacred grove Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...
on the shores of Lake Nemi, Diana was venerated as a triple goddess beginning in the late 6th century BCE.
Andreas Alföldi András (Andreas) Ede Zsigmond Alföldi (27 August 1895 – 12 February 1981) was a Hungarian historian, art historian, epigraphist, numismatist and archaeologist, specializing in the Late Antique period. He was one of the most productive 20th- ...
interpreted an image on a late Republican coin as the Latin Diana "conceived as a threefold unity of the divine huntress, the Moon goddess and the goddess of the nether world,
Hekate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...
". This coin, minted by P. Accoleius Lariscolus in 43 BCE, has been acknowledged as representing an archaic statue of Diana Nemorensis.A. Alföldi"Diana Nemorensis" in ''American journal of Archaeology'' 64 1960 p. 137-144. It represents Artemis with the bow at one extremity, Luna-Selene with flowers at the other and a central deity not immediately identifiable, all united by a horizontal bar. The iconographical analysis allows the dating of this image to the 6th century at which time there are Etruscan models. The coin shows that the triple goddess cult image still stood in the ''lucus'' of Nemi in 43 BCE. Lake Nemi was called ''Triviae lacus'' by Virgil (''Aeneid'' 7.516), while
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
called Diana ''montium custos nemoremque virgo'' ("keeper of the mountains and virgin of Nemi") and ''diva triformis'' ("three-form goddess"). Two heads found in the sanctuary and the Roman theatre at Nemi, which have a hollow on their back, lend support to this interpretation of an archaic triple Diana.


As goddess of crossroads and the underworld

The earliest epithet of Diana was ''Trivia'', and she was addressed with that title by Virgil, Catullus, and many others. "Trivia" comes from the Latin ''trivium'', "triple way", and refers to Diana's guardianship over roadways, particularly Y-junctions or three-way crossroads. This role carried a somewhat dark and dangerous connotation, as it metaphorically pointed the way to the underworld. In the 1st-century CE play ''
Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...
'', Seneca's titular sorceress calls on Trivia to cast a magic spell. She evokes the triple goddess of Diana, Selene, and Hecate, and specifies that she requires the powers of the latter. The 1st century poet
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
similarly wrote of a magic incantation invoking the power of both Diana and Proserpina.Horace,
Epode An epodeFrom el, ἐπῳδός, ''epodos'', "singing to/over, an enchanter." is the third part of an ode that follows the strophe and the antistrophe and completes the movement. Evolution At a certain point in time the choirs, which had previo ...
17
The symbol of the crossroads is relevant to several aspects of Diana's domain. It can symbolize the paths hunters may encounter in the forest, lit only by the full moon; this symbolizes making choices "in the dark" without the light of guidance. Diana's role as a goddess of the underworld, or at least of ushering people between life and death, caused her early on to be conflated with
Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...
(and occasionally also with
Proserpina Proserpina ( , ) or Proserpine ( ) is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of Greek Persephone. Proserpina replaced or was combined with the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera, whos ...
). However, her role as an underworld goddess appears to pre-date strong Greek influence (though the early Greek colony of
Cumae Cumae ( grc, Κύμη, (Kumē) or or ; it, Cuma) was the first ancient Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC and soon becoming one of the strongest colonies. It later became a rich Ro ...
had a cult of Hekate and certainly had contacts with the Latins). A theater in her sanctuary at Lake Nemi included a pit and tunnel that would have allowed actors to easily descend on one side of the stage and ascend on the other, indicating a connection between the phases of the moon and a descent by the moon goddess into the underworld. It is likely that her underworld aspect in her original Latin worship did not have a distinct name, like Luna was for her moon aspect. This is due to a seeming reluctance or taboo by the early Latins to name underworld deities, and the fact that they believed the underworld to be silent, precluding naming. Hekate, a Greek goddess also associated with the boundary between the earth and the underworld, became attached to Diana as a name for her underworld aspect following Greek influence.


As goddess of childbirth

Diana was often considered to be a goddess associated with fertility and childbirth, and the protection of women during labor. This probably arose as an extension of her association with the moon, whose cycles were believed to parallel the menstrual cycle, and which was used to track the months during pregnancy. At her shrine in Aricia, worshipers left votive terracotta offerings for the goddess in the shapes of babies and wombs, and the temple there also offered care of pups and pregnant dogs. This care of infants also extended to the training of both young people and dogs, especially for hunting. In her role as a protector of childbirth, Diana was called ''Diana Lucina'', ''Diana Lucifera'' or even '' Juno Lucina'', because her domain overlapped with that of the goddess Juno. The title of Juno may also have had an independent origin as it applied to Diana, with the literal meaning of "helper" - Diana as ''Juno Lucina'' would be the "helper of childbirth".


As a "frame god"

According to a theory proposed by
Georges Dumézil Georges Edmond Raoul Dumézil (4 March 189811 October 1986) was a French philologist, linguist, and religious studies scholar who specialized in comparative linguistics and mythology. He was a professor at Istanbul University, École pratique d ...
, Diana falls into a particular subset of celestial gods, referred to in histories of religion as ''frame gods''. Such gods, while keeping the original features of celestial divinities (i.e. transcendent heavenly power and abstention from direct rule in worldly matters), did not share the fate of other celestial gods in Indoeuropean religions - that of becoming ''dei otiosi'', or gods without practical purpose, since they did retain a particular sort of influence over the world and mankind. The celestial character of Diana is reflected in her connection with inaccessibility, virginity, light, and her preference for dwelling on high mountains and in sacred woods. Diana, therefore, reflects the heavenly world in its sovereignty, supremacy, impassibility, and indifference towards such secular matters as the fates of mortals and states. At the same time, however, she is seen as active in ensuring the succession of kings and in the preservation of humankind through the protection of childbirth. These functions are apparent in the traditional institutions and cults related to the goddess: # The legend of the
rex Nemorensis The ''rex Nemorensis'' (Latin, "king of Nemi" or "king of the Grove") was a priest of the goddess Diana at Aricia in Italy, by the shores of Lake Nemi, where she was known as Diana Nemorensis. The priesthood played a major role in the mytho ...
, Diana's ''sacerdos'' (priest) in the Arician wood, who held the position until someone else challenged and killed him in a duel, after breaking a branch from a certain tree of the wood. This ever open succession reveals the character and mission of the goddess as a guarantor of kingly status through successive generations.Ovid ''Fasti'' III, 262-271. Her function as bestower of authority to rule is also attested in the story related by Livy in which a Sabine man who sacrifices a
heifer Heifer may refer to: * Heifer (cow), a young cow before she has had her first calf * Frank Heifer (1854–1893), American outfielder and first baseman * '' The Heifer'' (''La vaquilla''), 1985 Spanish comedy film * Heifer International Heifer ...
to Diana wins for his country the seat of the Roman empire. # Diana was also worshiped by women who wanted to be pregnant or who, once pregnant, prayed for an easy delivery. This form of worship is attested in archaeological finds of votive statuettes in her sanctuary in the nemus Aricinum as well as in ancient sources, e.g. Ovid. According to Dumezil, the forerunner of all ''frame gods'' is an Indian epic hero who was the image (
avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
) of the Vedic god Dyaus. Having renounced the world, in his roles of father and king, he attained the status of an immortal being while retaining the duty of ensuring that his dynasty is preserved and that there is always a new king for each generation. The Scandinavian god
Heimdallr In Norse mythology, Heimdall (from Old Norse Heimdallr) is a god who keeps watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarök from his dwelling Himinbjörg, where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets the sky. He is attested as possessing forekno ...
performs an analogous function: he is born first and will die last. He too gives origin to kingship and the first king, bestowing on him regal prerogatives. Diana, although a female deity, has exactly the same functions, preserving mankind through childbirth and royal succession. F. H. Pairault, in her essay on Diana, qualified Dumézil's theory as "''impossible to verify''".


Mythology

Unlike the
Greek gods The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...
, Roman gods were originally considered to be
numina Numen (plural numina) is a Latin term for "divinity", "divine presence", or "divine will." The Latin authors defined it as follows:For a more extensive account, refer to Cicero writes of a "divine mind" (''divina mens''), a god "whose numen ever ...
: divine powers of presence and will that did not necessarily have physical form. At the time Rome was founded, Diana and the other major Roman gods probably did not have much mythology per se, or any depictions in human form. The idea of gods as having
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
qualities and human-like personalities and actions developed later, under the influence of Greek and Etruscan religion.Gods and Goddesses of Rome
''Nova Roma''.
By the 3rd century BCE, Diana is found listed among the twelve major gods of the Roman pantheon by the poet
Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabria, ...
. Though the
Capitoline Triad The Capitoline Triad was a group of three deities who were worshipped in Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion in an elaborate temple on Rome's Capitoline Hill (Latin ''Capitolium''). It comprised Jupiter (mythology), Jupiter, Juno (my ...
were the primary state gods of Rome, early Roman myth did not assign a strict hierarchy to the gods the way Greek mythology did, though the Greek hierarchy would eventually be adopted by Roman religion as well. Once Greek influence had caused Diana to be considered identical to the Greek goddess
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
, Diana acquired Artemis's physical description, attributes, and variants of her myths as well. Like Artemis, Diana is usually depicted in art wearing a women’s chiton, shortened in the
kolpos The kolpos (Greek κόλπος, breast) is the ''blousing'' of a peplos, chiton or tunic in Ancient Greek clothing, whereby excess length of the material hangs folded over a zone (a narrow girdle). The fabric of the garment was typically cut lo ...
style to facilitate mobility during hunting, with a hunting bow and quiver, and often accompanied by hunting dogs. A 1st-century BCE Roman coin (see above) depicted her with a unique, short hairstyle, and in triple form, with one form holding a bow and another holding a
poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...
.


Family

When worship of Apollo was first introduced to Rome, Diana became conflated with Apollo's sister Artemis as in the earlier Greek myths, and as such she became identified as the daughter of Apollo's parents Latona and Jupiter. Though Diana was usually considered to be a virgin goddess like Artemis, later authors sometimes attributed consorts and children to her. According to
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
and
Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabria, ...
, Trivia (an epithet of Diana) and
Caelus Caelus or Coelus was a primal god of the sky in Roman myth and theology, iconography, and literature (compare ''caelum'', the Latin word for "sky" or "the heaven", hence English "celestial"). The deity's name usually appears in masculine gram ...
were the parents of
Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
, as well as of
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...
and
Ops In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea. Iconography In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...
. According to
Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...
(who cited
Nigidius Figulus Publius Nigidius Figulus (c. 98 – 45 BC) was a scholar of the Late Roman Republic and one of the praetors for 58 BC. He was a friend of Cicero, to whom he gave his support at the time of the Catilinarian conspiracy. Nigidius sided with the Optim ...
and
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
),
Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
and Jana (Diana) are a pair of divinities, worshiped as the
sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
and
moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
. Janus was said to receive sacrifices before all the others because, through him, the way of access to the desired deity is made apparent.


Myth of Actaeon

Diana's mythology incorporated stories which were variants of earlier stories about Artemis. Possibly the most well-known of these is the myth of
Actaeon Actaeon (; grc, Ἀκταίων ''Aktaion''), in Greek mythology, son of the priestly herdsman Aristaeus and Autonoe in Boeotia, was a famous Theban hero. Like Achilles in a later generation, he was trained by the centaur Chiron. He fell to ...
. In
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
's version of this myth, part of his poem ''
Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...
'', he tells of a pool or grotto hidden in the wooded valley of Gargaphie. There, Diana, the goddess of the woods, would bathe and rest after a hunt. Actaeon, a young hunter, stumbled across the grotto and accidentally witnessed the goddess bathing without invitation. In retaliation, Diana splashed him with water from the pool, cursing him, and he transformed into a deer. His own hunting dogs caught his scent, and tore him apart. Ovid's version of the myth of Actaeon differs from most earlier sources. Unlike earlier myths about Artemis, Actaeon is killed for an innocent mistake, glimpsing Diana bathing. An earlier variant of this myth, known as the Bath of
Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...
, had the hunter intentionally spy on the bathing goddess Pallas (Athena), and earlier versions of the myth involving Artemis did not involve the bath at all.Schlam, C.C. (1984). Diana and Actaeon: Metamorphoses of a Myth. ''Classical Antiquity'', Vol. 3, No. 1 (Apr., 1984), pp. 82-110.


Worship in the classical period

Diana was an ancient goddess common to all Latin tribes. Therefore, many sanctuaries were dedicated to her in the lands inhabited by Latins. Her primary sanctuary was a woodland grove overlooking
Lake Nemi Lake Nemi ( it, Lago di Nemi, la, Nemorensis Lacus, also called Diana's Mirror, la, Speculum Dianae) is a small circular volcanic lake in the Lazio region of Italy south of Rome, taking its name from Nemi, the largest town in the area, that ...
, a body of water also known as "Diana's Mirror", where she was worshiped as
Diana Nemorensis Diana Nemorensis ("Diana of Nemi"), also known as " Diana of the Wood", was an Italic form of the goddess who became Hellenised during the fourth century BC and conflated with Artemis. Her sanctuary was to be found on the northern shore of Lake ...
, or "Diana of the Wood". In Rome, the cult of Diana may have been almost as old as the city itself. Varro mentions her in the list of deities to whom king
Titus Tatius According to the Roman foundation myth, Titus Tatius was the king of the Sabines from Cures and joint-ruler of the Kingdom of Rome for several years. During the reign of Romulus, the first king of Rome, Tatius declared war on Rome in respon ...
promised to build a shrine. His list included Luna and Diana Lucina as separate entities. Another testimony to the antiquity of her cult is to be found in the ''lex regia'' of King
Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who according to the Roman Historian Livy, believ ...
that condemns those guilty of incest to the ''sacratio'' to Diana. She had a temple in Rome on the
Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the sou ...
, according to tradition dedicated by king
Servius Tullius Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome ...
. Its location is remarkable as the Aventine is situated outside the
pomerium The ''pomerium'' or ''pomoerium'' was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its ''pomerium''; everything beyond it was simply territory (''ager'') belonging to Rome. ...
, i.e. original territory of the city, in order to comply with the tradition that Diana was a goddess common to all Latins and not exclusively of the Romans. Being placed on the Aventine, and thus outside the ''
pomerium The ''pomerium'' or ''pomoerium'' was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its ''pomerium''; everything beyond it was simply territory (''ager'') belonging to Rome. ...
'', meant that Diana's cult essentially remained a ''foreign'' one, like that of
Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...
; she was never officially ''transferred'' to Rome as
Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...
was after the sack of
Veii Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...
. Other known sanctuaries and temples to Diana include Colle di Corne near
Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable distance from Rome ( ...
, where she is referred to with the archaic Latin name of ''deva Cornisca'' and where existed a
collegium A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their rea ...
of worshippers; at Évora, Portugal; Mount Algidus, also near Tusculum; at
Lavinium Lavinium was a port city of Latium, to the south of Rome, midway between the Tiber river at Ostia and Antium. The coastline then, as now, was a long strip of beach. Lavinium was on a hill at the southernmost edge of the ''Silva Laurentina'', a ...
; and at
Tibur Tivoli ( , ; la, Tibur) is a town and in Lazio, central Italy, north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills. The city offers a wide view over the Roman Campagna. History Gaius Julius Solinu ...
(Tivoli), where she is referred to as ''Diana Opifera Nemorensis''. Diana was also worshiped at a sacred wood mentioned by Livy - ''ad compitum Anagninum'' (near
Anagni Anagni () is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, Latium, central Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical and artistic center of the Latin Valley. Geography Overview Anagni still maintains the ...
), and on Mount
Tifata Tifata is a mountain of Campania, Italy. The Abbey of Sant'Angelo in Formis is located on its western slopes. In 83 BC as part of Sulla's civil war Sulla's civil war was fought between the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla and his oppo ...
in Campania. According to
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
, men and women alike were worshipers of Diana and were welcomed into all of her temples. The one exception seems to have been a temple on the
Vicus Patricius {{Infobox ancient site , name = ''Vicus Patricius'' , native_name = , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Monti - via Urbana 1010033.JPG , image_size = 300 px , alt = , caption = Th ...
, which men either did not enter due to tradition, or were not allowed to enter. Plutarch related a legend that a man had attempted to assault a woman worshiping in this temple and was killed by a pack of dogs (echoing the myth of Diana and Actaeon), which resulted in a superstition against men entering the temple.Plutarch, ''Roman Questions'', 3. A feature common to nearly all of Diana's temples and shrines by the second century AD was the hanging up of stag antlers. Plutarch noted that the only exception to this was the temple on the Aventine Hill, in which bull horns had been hung up instead. Plutarch explains this by way of reference to a legend surrounding the sacrifice of an impressive
Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divide ...
bull by King Servius at the founding of the Aventine temple.


Sanctuary at Lake Nemi

Diana's worship may have originated at an open-air sanctuary overlooking
Lake Nemi Lake Nemi ( it, Lago di Nemi, la, Nemorensis Lacus, also called Diana's Mirror, la, Speculum Dianae) is a small circular volcanic lake in the Lazio region of Italy south of Rome, taking its name from Nemi, the largest town in the area, that ...
in the
Alban Hills The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcano, volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, bu ...
near Aricia, where she was worshiped as
Diana Nemorensis Diana Nemorensis ("Diana of Nemi"), also known as " Diana of the Wood", was an Italic form of the goddess who became Hellenised during the fourth century BC and conflated with Artemis. Her sanctuary was to be found on the northern shore of Lake ...
, or ("Diana of the Sylvan Glade").Porteous, A. (2001).
The Forest in Folklore and Mythology
'. Courier Corporation. , 9780486420103
According to legendary accounts, the sanctuary was founded by
Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...
and
Iphigenia In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; grc, Ἰφιγένεια, , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting ...
after they fled from the
Tauri The Tauri (; in Ancient Greek), or Taurians, also Scythotauri, Tauri Scythae, Tauroscythae (Pliny, ''H. N.'' 4.85) were an ancient people settled on the southern coast of the Crimea peninsula, inhabiting the Crimean Mountains in the 1st millenni ...
. In this tradition, the Nemi sanctuary was supposedly built on the pattern of an earlier Temple of Artemis Tauropolos,Carlsen, J. (2009). Sanctuaries of Artemis and the Domitii Ahenobarbi. Tobias Fischer-Hansen & Birte Poulsen, eds. ''From Artemis to Diana: The Goddess of Man and Beast''. Museum Tusculanum Press. , 9788763507882. and the first cult statue at Nemi was said to have been stolen from the Tauri and brought to Nemi by Orestes. Historical evidence suggests that worship of Diana at Nemi flourished from at least the 6th century BCE until the 2nd century CE. Her cult there was first attested in Latin literature by
Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write histo ...
, in a surviving quote by the late grammarian
Priscian Priscianus Caesariensis (), commonly known as Priscian ( or ), was a Latin grammarian and the author of the ''Institutes of Grammar'', which was the standard textbook for the study of Latin during the Middle Ages. It also provided the raw materia ...
. By the 4th century BCE, the simple shrine at Nemi had been joined by a temple complex. The sanctuary served an important political role as it was held in common by the
Latin League The Latin League (c. 7th century BC – 338 BC)Stearns, Peter N. (2001) ''The Encyclopedia of World History'', Houghton Mifflin. pp. 76–78. . was an ancient confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near the ancient c ...
.''commune Latinorum Dianae templum'' in
Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
, ''Lingua Latina'' V.43; the cult there was of ''antiqua religione'' in
Pliny's Natural History The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...
, xliv. 91, 242 and Ovid's Fasti III 327–331.
Poulsen, B. (2009). Introduction. Tobias Fischer-Hansen & Birte Poulsen, eds. ''From Artemis to Diana: The Goddess of Man and Beast''. Museum Tusculanum Press. , 9788763507882. A festival to Diana, the
Nemoralia The Nemoralia (also known as the Festival of Torches or Hecatean Ides) is a three-day festival originally celebrated by the ancient Romans on the Ides of August (August 13–15) in honor of the goddess Diana. Although the Nemoralia was originally ...
, was held yearly at Nemi on the Ides of August (August 13–15). Worshipers traveled to Nemi carrying torches and garlands, and once at the lake, they left pieces of thread tied to fences and tablets inscribed with prayers. Diana's festival eventually became widely celebrated throughout Italy, which was unusual given the provincial nature of Diana's cult. The poet
Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; ; ) was a Greco-Roman poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving Latin poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid''; a collection of occasional poetry, ...
wrote of the festival: :''"It is the season when the most scorching region of the heavens takes over the land and the keen dog-star Sirius, so often struck by Hyperion's sun, burns the gasping fields. Now is the day when Trivia's Arician grove, convenient for fugitive kings, grows smoky, and the lake, having guilty knowledge of Hippolytus, glitters with the reflection of a multitude of torches; Diana herself garlands the deserving hunting dogs and polishes the arrowheads and allows the wild animals to go in safety, and at virtuous hearths all Italy celebrates the Hecatean Ides."'' (Statius ''Silv.'' 3.I.52-60) Statius describes the triple nature of the goddess by invoking heavenly (the stars), earthly (the grove itself) and underworld (Hecate) imagery. He also suggests by the garlanding of the dogs and polishing of the spears that no hunting was allowed during the festival. Legend has it that Diana's high priest at Nemi, known as the
Rex Nemorensis The ''rex Nemorensis'' (Latin, "king of Nemi" or "king of the Grove") was a priest of the goddess Diana at Aricia in Italy, by the shores of Lake Nemi, where she was known as Diana Nemorensis. The priesthood played a major role in the mytho ...
, was always an escaped slave who could only obtain the position by defeating his predecessor in a fight to the death. Sir
James George Frazer Sir James George Frazer (; 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941) was a Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion. Personal life He was born on 1 Janua ...
wrote of this sacred grove in ''
The Golden Bough ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion'' (retitled ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion'' in its second edition) is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir ...
'', basing his interpretation on brief remarks in
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
(5.3.12),
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...
(2,27.24) and
Servius Servius is the name of: * Servius (praenomen), the personal name * Maurus Servius Honoratus, a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian * Servius Tullius, the Roman king * Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the 1st century BC Roman jurist See ...
' commentary on the ''
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
'' (6.136). The legend tells of a tree that stood in the center of the grove and was heavily guarded. No one was allowed to break off its limbs, with the exception of a runaway slave, who was allowed, if he could, to break off one of the boughs. He was then in turn granted the privilege to engage the Rex Nemorensis, the current king and priest of Diana, in a fight to the death. If the slave prevailed, he became the next king for as long as he could defeat his challengers. However,
Joseph Fontenrose Joseph Eddy Fontenrose (17 June 1903, Sutter Creek – July 1986, Ashland, Oregon) was an American classical scholar. He was centrally interested in Greek religion and Greek mythology; he was also an expert on John Steinbeck, commenting on the ...
criticised Frazer's assumption that a rite of this sort actually occurred at the sanctuary, and no contemporary records exist that support the historical existence of the ''Rex Nemorensis''.


Spread and conflation with Artemis

Rome hoped to unify into and control the Latin tribes around Nemi, so Diana's worship was imported to Rome as a show of political solidarity. Diana soon afterwards became Hellenized, and combined with the
Greek goddess A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of d ...
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
, "a process which culminated with the appearance of Diana beside Apollo he brother of Artemisin the first ''
lectisternium The lectisternium was an ancient Roman propitiatory ceremony, consisting of a meal offered to gods and goddesses. The word derives from ''lectum sternere'', "to spread (or "drape") a couch." The deities were represented by their busts or statues ...
'' at Rome" in 399 BCE. The process of identification between the two goddesses probably began when artists who were commissioned to create new cult statues for Diana's temples outside Nemi were struck by the similar attributes between Diana and the more familiar Artemis, and sculpted Diana in a manner inspired by previous depictions of Artemis. Sibyllene influence and trade with
Massilia Massalia (Greek: Μασσαλία; Latin: Massilia; modern Marseille) was an ancient Greek colony founded ca. 600 BC on the Mediterranean coast of present-day France, east of the river Rhône, by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Western An ...
, where similar cult statues of Artemis existed, would have completed the process. According to Françoise Hélène Pairault's study, historical and archaeological evidence point to the fact that the characteristics given to both Diana of the Aventine Hill and
Diana Nemorensis Diana Nemorensis ("Diana of Nemi"), also known as " Diana of the Wood", was an Italic form of the goddess who became Hellenised during the fourth century BC and conflated with Artemis. Her sanctuary was to be found on the northern shore of Lake ...
were the product of the direct or indirect influence of the cult of Artemis, which was spread by the Phoceans among the Greek towns of Campania
Cuma CUMA (Canadian Underwater Mine-countermeasure Apparatus) (commercially called SIVA+) is a make of rebreather underwater breathing set designed and made in Canada for the Canadian Armed Forces by Fullerton Sherwood Engineering Ltd to replace the Ro ...
and
Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...
, who in turn had passed it over to the Etruscans and the Latins by the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. Evidence suggests that a confrontation occurred between two groups of Etruscans who fought for supremacy, those from
Tarquinia Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. ...
,
Vulci Vulci or Volci (Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan civilization, Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy. As George Dennis (explorer), George Dennis wrot ...
and
Caere : Caere (also Caisra and Cisra) is the Latin name given by the Romans to one of the larger cities of southern Etruria, the modern Cerveteri, approximately 50–60 kilometres north-northwest of Rome. To the Etruscans it was known as Cisra, to ...
(allied with the Greeks of Capua) and those of
Clusium Clusium ( grc-gre, Κλύσιον, ''Klýsion'', or , ''Kloúsion''; Umbrian:''Camars'') was an ancient city in Italy, one of several found at the site. The current municipality of Chiusi (Tuscany) partly overlaps this Roman walled city. The Roman ...
. This is reflected in the legend of the coming of Orestes to Nemi and of the inhumation of his bones in the Roman Forum near the temple of Saturn. The cult introduced by Orestes at Nemi is apparently that of the
Artemis Tauropolos In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to ...
. The literary amplification reveals a confused religious background: different versions of Artemis were conflated under the epithet. As far as Nemi's Diana is concerned there are two different versions, by
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
and
Servius Honoratus Servius was a late fourth-century and early fifth-century Philologist, grammarian. He earned a contemporary reputation as the most learned man of his generation in Roman Italy, Italy; he author, authored a set of Commentary (philology), commenta ...
. Strabo's version looks to be the most authoritative as he had access to first-hand primary sources on the sanctuaries of Artemis, i.e. the priest of Artemis Artemidoros of Ephesus. The meaning of ''Tauropolos'' denotes an Asiatic goddess with lunar attributes, lady of the herds. The only possible ''interpretatio graeca'' of high antiquity concerning ''Diana Nemorensis'' could have been the one based on this ancient aspect of a deity of light, master of wildlife. ''Tauropolos'' is an ancient epithet attached to Artemis,
Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...
, and even
Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
. According to the legend Orestes founded Nemi together with Iphigenia. At Cuma the
Sybil Sibyls were oracular women believed to possess prophetic powers in ancient Greece. Sybil or Sibyl may also refer to: Films * ''Sybil'' (1921 film) * ''Sybil'' (1976 film), a film starring Sally Field * ''Sybil'' (2007 film), a remake of the 19 ...
is the priestess of both
Phoibos Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
and Trivia.
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
and
Stesichorus Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions abou ...
tell the story according to which after her death
Iphigenia In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; grc, Ἰφιγένεια, , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting ...
was divinised under the name of Hecate, a fact which would support the assumption that Artemis Tauropolos had a real ancient alliance with the heroine, who was her priestess in
Taurid The Taurids are an annual meteor shower, associated with the comet Encke. The Taurids are actually two separate showers, with a Southern and a Northern component. The Southern Taurids originated from Comet Encke, while the Northern Taurids o ...
and her human paragon. This religious complex is in turn supported by the triple statue of Artemis-Hecate. In Rome, Diana was regarded with great reverence and was a patroness of lower-class citizens, called
plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...
, as well as
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, who could receive asylum in her temples.
Georg Wissowa Georg Otto August Wissowa (17 June 1859 – 11 May 1931) was a German classical philologist born in Neudorf, near Breslau. Education and career Wissowa studied classical philology under August Reifferscheid at the University of Bresla ...
proposed that this might be because the first slaves of the Romans were Latins of the neighboring tribes. However, the
Temple of Artemis The Temple of Artemis or Artemision ( gr, Ἀρτεμίσιον; tr, Artemis Tapınağı), also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient, local form of the goddess Artemis (identified with Diana, a Roman god ...
at Ephesus had the same custom of the asylum.


In Rome

Worship of Diana probably spread into the city of Rome beginning around 550 BCE,Gordon, A.E. (1932). "On the Origin of Diana", ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association'' 63 (1932, pp. 177-192) p 178. during her Hellenization and combination with the Greek goddess Artemis. Diana was first worshiped along with her brother and mother,
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
and
Latona In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto (; grc-gre, Λητώ , ''Lētṓ'', or , ''Lātṓ'' in Doric Greek) is a goddess and the mother of Apollo, the god of music, and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.Hesiod, ''Theogony'404–409/ref ...
, in their temple in the
Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...
, and later in the
Temple of Apollo Palatinus The Temple of Apollo Palatinus ('Palatine Apollo') was a temple on the Palatine Hill of ancient Rome, which was first dedicated by Augustus to his patron god Apollo. It was only the second temple in Rome dedicated to the god, after the Temple ...
. The first major temple dedicated primarily to Diana in the vicinity of Rome was the Temple of Diana Aventina (Diana of the
Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the sou ...
). According to the Roman historian
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
, the construction of this temple began in the 6th century BCE and was inspired by stories of the massive
Temple of Artemis The Temple of Artemis or Artemision ( gr, Ἀρτεμίσιον; tr, Artemis Tapınağı), also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient, local form of the goddess Artemis (identified with Diana, a Roman god ...
at
Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...
, which was said to have been built through the combined efforts of all the cities of
Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. Legend has it that
Servius Tullius Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome ...
was impressed with this act of massive political and economic cooperation, and convinced the cities of the
Latin League The Latin League (c. 7th century BC – 338 BC)Stearns, Peter N. (2001) ''The Encyclopedia of World History'', Houghton Mifflin. pp. 76–78. . was an ancient confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near the ancient c ...
to work with the Romans to build their own temple to the goddess.
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
, ''
Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...
,'' 1.45
However, there is no compelling evidence for such an early construction of the temple, and it is more likely that it was built in the 3rd century BCE, following the influence of the temple at Nemi, and probably about the same time the first temples to
Vertumnus In Roman mythology, Vertumnus (; also Vortumnus or Vertimnus) is the god of seasons, change and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees. He could change his form at will; using this power, according to Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' (xiv) ...
(who was associated with Diana) were built in Rome (264 BCE). The misconception that the Aventine Temple was inspired by the Ephesian Temple might originate in the fact that the cult images and statues used at the former were based heavily on those found in the latter. Whatever its initial construction date, records show that the Avantine Temple was rebuilt by
Lucius Cornificius Lucius Cornificius, a member of the plebeian gens ''Cornificia'', was a Roman politician and consul in 35 BC. Cornificius served as the accuser of Marcus Junius Brutus in the court which tried the murderers of Julius Caesar. In 38 BC Octavian ga ...
in 32 BCE. If it was still in use by the 4th century CE, the Aventine temple would have been permanently closed during the
persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337) in the military colony of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), when he destroyed a pagan temple for the purpose of constructing a Christian church ...
. Today, a short street named the ''Via del Tempio di Diana'' and an associated plaza, ''Piazza del Tempio di Diana'', commemorates the site of the temple. Part of its wall is located within one of the halls of the Apuleius restaurant. Later temple dedications often were based on the model for ritual formulas and regulations of the Temple of Diana. Roman politicians built several minor temples to Diana elsewhere in Rome to secure public support. One of these was built in the
Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...
in 187 BCE; no Imperial period records of this temple have been found, and it is possible it was one of the temples demolished around 55 BCE in order to build a theater. Diana also had a public temple on the
Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace ...
, the sanctuary of Diana Planciana. It was dedicated by Plancius in 55 BCE, though it is unclear which Plancius. In their worship of Artemis, Greeks filled their temples with sculptures of the goddess created by well-known sculptors, and many were adapted for use in the worship of Diana by the Romans, beginning around the 2nd century BCE (the beginning of a period of strong Hellenistic influence on Roman religion). The earliest depictions of the
Artemis of Ephesus The Temple of Artemis or Artemision ( gr, Ἀρτεμίσιον; tr, Artemis Tapınağı), also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient, local form of the goddess Artemis (identified with Diana, a Roman god ...
are found on Ephesian coins from this period. By the Imperial period, small marble statues of the Ephesian Artemis were being produced in the Western region of the Mediterranean and were often bought by Roman patrons.Nielsen, M. (2009). Diana Efesia Multimammia: The metamorphosis of a pagan goddess from the Renaissance to the age of Neo-Classicism. In Tobias Fischer-Hansen & Birte Poulsen, eds. ''From Artemis to Diana: The Goddess of Man and Beast''. Museum Tusculanum Press. , 9788763507882. The Romans obtained a large copy of an Ephesian Artemis statue for their temple on the Aventine Hill.Poulsen, B. (2009). Sanctuaries of the Goddess of the Hunt. In Tobias Fischer-Hansen & Birte Poulsen, eds. ''From Artemis to Diana: The Goddess of Man and Beast''. Museum Tusculanum Press. , 9788763507882. Diana was usually depicted for educated Romans in her Greek guise. If she was shown accompanied by a deer, as in the ''
Diana of Versailles The ''Diana of Versailles'' or ''Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt'' (french: Artémis, déesse de la chasse) is a slightly over-lifesize marble statue of the Roman goddess Diana (Greek: Artemis) with a deer. It is currently located in the Musée du ...
'', this is because Diana was the patroness of hunting. The deer may also offer a covert reference to the myth of Acteon (or Actaeon), who saw her bathing naked. Diana transformed Acteon into a stag and set his own hunting dogs to kill him.


At Mount Tifata

In
Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
, Diana had a major temple at Mount
Tifata Tifata is a mountain of Campania, Italy. The Abbey of Sant'Angelo in Formis is located on its western slopes. In 83 BC as part of Sulla's civil war Sulla's civil war was fought between the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla and his oppo ...
, near
Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...
. She was worshiped there as ''Diana Tifatina''. This was one of the oldest sanctuaries in Campania. As a rural sanctuary, it included lands and estates that would have been worked by slaves following the Roman conquest of Campania, and records show that expansion and renovation projects at her temple were funded in part by other conquests by Roman military campaigns. The modern Christian church of Sant'Angelo in Formis was built on the ruins of the Tifata temple.


Roman provinces

In the Roman provinces, Diana was widely worshiped alongside local deities. Over 100 inscriptions to Diana have been cataloged in the provinces, mainly from
Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, Upper Germania, and
Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...
. Diana was commonly invoked alongside another forest god, Silvanus, as well as other "mountain gods". In the provinces, she was occasionally conflated with local goddesses such as
Abnoba Abnoba is a name with theological and geographical meanings: It is the name of a Gaulish goddess who was worshiped in the Black Forest and surrounding areas. It is also the name of a mountain or mountain range. Etymology The etymology of the the ...
, and was given high status, with ''Augusta'' and ''regina'' ("queen") being common epithets.Diane Abnobae: to Diana Abnoba
Deo Mercurio. Access date 21 Nov 2018.


Household worship

Diana was not only regarded as a goddess of the wilderness and the hunt, but was often worshiped as a patroness of families. She served a similar function to the hearth goddess Vesta, and was sometimes considered to be a member of the
Penates In ancient Roman religion, the Di Penates () or Penates ( ) were among the ''dii familiares'', or household deities, invoked most often in domestic rituals. When the family had a meal, they threw a bit into the fire on the hearth for the Penates. ...
, the deities most often invoked in household rituals. In this role, she was often given a name reflecting the tribe of family who worshiped her and asked for her protection. For example, in what is now
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
, Diana was worshiped as ''Diana Mattiaca'' by the
Mattiaci The Mattiaci were by Tacitus recorded as an ancient Germanic tribe and related to the Chatti, their Germanic neighbors to the east. There is no clear definition of what the tribe's name meant. The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'' sugge ...
tribe. Other family-derived named attested in the ancient literature include ''Diana Cariciana'', ''Diana Valeriana'', and ''Diana Plancia''. As a house goddess, Diana often became reduced in stature compared to her official worship by the Roman state religion. In personal or family worship, Diana was brought to the level of other household spirits, and was believed to have a vested interest in the prosperity of the household and the continuation of the family. The Roman poet
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
regarded Diana as a household goddess in his ''
Odes Odes may refer to: *The plural of ode, a type of poem *Odes (Horace), ''Odes'' (Horace), a collection of poems by the Roman author Horace, circa 23 BCE *Odes of Solomon, a pseudepigraphic book of the Bible *Book of Odes (Bible), a Deuterocanonic ...
'', and had an altar dedicated to her in his villa where household worship could be conducted. In his poetry, Horace deliberately contrasted the kinds of grand, elevated hymns to Diana on behalf of the entire Roman state, the kind of worship that would have been typical at her Aventine temple, with a more personal form of devotion.Cairns, F. (2012). ''Roman Lyric: Collected Papers on Catullus and Horace''. Volume 301 of Beiträge zur Altertumskunde. Walter de Gruyter, 2012. Images of Diana and her associated myths have been found on
sarcophagi A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a cadaver, corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from ...
of wealthy Romans. They often included scenes depicting sacrifices to the goddess, and on at least one example, the deceased man is shown joining Diana's hunt.


Theology

Since ancient times, philosophers and theologians have examined the nature of Diana in light of her worship traditions, attributes, mythology, and identification with other gods.


Conflation with other goddesses

Diana was initially a hunting goddess and goddess of the local woodland at Nemi, but as her worship spread, she acquired attributes of other similar goddesses. As she became conflated with Artemis, she became a
moon goddess A lunar deity or moon deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be found ...
, identified with the other lunar goddesses goddess
Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...
and
Hekate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...
. She also became the goddess of childbirth and ruled over the countryside.
Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...
wrote a poem to Diana in which she has more than one alias: Latonia, Lucina,
Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...
, Trivia,
Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...
. Along with
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
, Diana was often venerated at games held in Roman amphitheaters, and some inscriptions from the
Danubian provinces The Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire were the provinces of the Lower Danube, within a geographical area encompassing the middle and lower Danube basins, the Eastern Alps, the Dinarides, and the Balkans. They include Noricum, Dacia ( Trajan ...
show that she was conflated with
Nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The n ...
in this role, as ''Diana Nemesis''. Outside of Italy, Diana had important centers of worship where she was syncretised with similar local deities in
Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, Upper Germania, and
Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...
. Diana was particularly important in the region in and around the
Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
, where she was conflated with the local goddess
Abnoba Abnoba is a name with theological and geographical meanings: It is the name of a Gaulish goddess who was worshiped in the Black Forest and surrounding areas. It is also the name of a mountain or mountain range. Etymology The etymology of the the ...
and worshiped as ''Diana Abnoba''. Some late antique sources went even further, syncretizing many local "great goddesses" into a single "Queen of Heaven". The
Platonist Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and school of thought, philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary platonists do not necessarily accept all of the doctrines of Plato. Platonism had a profound effect on Western though ...
philosopher
Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...
, writing in the late 2nd century, depicted the goddess declaring:
"I come, Lucius, moved by your entreaties: I, mother of the universe, mistress of all the elements, first-born of the ages, highest of the gods, queen of the shades, first of those who dwell in heaven, representing in one shape all gods and goddesses. My will controls the shining heights of heaven, the health-giving sea-winds, and the mournful silences of hell; the entire world worships my single godhead in a thousand shapes, with divers rites, and under many a different name. The Phrygians, first-born of mankind, call me the Pessinuntian Mother of the gods; the native Athenians the Cecropian Minerva; the island-dwelling Cypriots Paphian Venus; the archer Cretans Dictynnan Diana; the triple-tongued Sicilians Stygian Proserpine; the ancient Eleusinians Actaean Ceres; some call me Juno, some Bellona, others Hecate, others Rhamnusia; but both races of Ethiopians, those on whom the rising and those on whom the setting sun shines, and the Egyptians who excel in ancient learning, honour me with the worship which is truly mine and call me by my true name: Queen Isis." :--
Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...
, translated by E. J. Kenny. ''
The Golden Ass The ''Metamorphoses'' of Apuleius, which Augustine of Hippo referred to as ''The Golden Ass'' (''Asinus aureus''), is the only ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety. The protagonist of the novel is Lucius. At the end of the no ...
''
Later poets and historians looked to Diana's identity as a triple goddess to merge her with triads heavenly, earthly, and underworld (cthonic) goddesses.
Maurus Servius Honoratus Servius was a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian. He earned a contemporary reputation as the most learned man of his generation in Italy; he authored a set of commentaries on the works of Virgil. These works, ''In tria Vir ...
said that the same goddess was called Luna in heaven, Diana on earth, and
Proserpina Proserpina ( , ) or Proserpine ( ) is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of Greek Persephone. Proserpina replaced or was combined with the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera, whos ...
in hell.
Servius Servius is the name of: * Servius (praenomen), the personal name * Maurus Servius Honoratus, a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian * Servius Tullius, the Roman king * Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the 1st century BC Roman jurist See ...
, ''Commentary on Virgil's Aeneid'' 6.118.
Michael Drayton Michael Drayton (1563 – 23 December 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. He died on 23 December 1631 in London. Early life Drayton was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothin ...
praises the Triple Diana in poem ''The Man in the Moone'' (1606): "So these great three most powerful of the rest, Phoebe, Diana,
Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...
, do tell. Her sovereignty in Heaven, in Earth and Hell".


In Platonism

Based on the earlier writings of
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
, the
Neoplatonist Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...
philosophers of late antiquity united the various major gods of Hellenic tradition into a series of monads containing within them triads, with some creating the world, some animating it or bringing it to life, and others harmonizing it. Within this system,
Proclus Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...
considered Diana to be one of the primary animating, or life-giving, deities. Proclus, citing Orphic tradition, concludes that Diana "presides over all the generation in nature, and is the midwife of physical productive principles" and that she "extends these genitals, distributing as far as to subterranean natures the prolific power of acchus"Proclus, ''Platonic Theology'' Book VII. Specifically, Proclus considered the life-generating principle of the highest order, within the Intellectual realm, to be Rhea, whom he identified with Ceres. Within her divinity was produced the cause of the basic principle of life. Projecting this principle into the lower, Hypercosmic realm of reality generated a lower monad,
Kore Kore may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Kore (comics), a comic-book series by Josh Blaylock and Tim Seeley *Kore (producer), French-Algerian music producer, also part of duo Kore & Skalp *Kore (sculpture), a type of ancient Greek sculpture dep ...
, who could therefore be understood as Ceres' "daughter". Kore embodied the "maidenly" principle of generation that, more importantly, included a principle of division - where Demeter generates life indiscriminately, Kore distributes it individually. This division results in another triad or trinity, known as the Maidenly trinity, within the monad of Kore: namely, Diana, Proserpine, and Minerva, through whom individual living beings are given life and perfected. Specifically, according to a commentary by scholar Spyridon Rangos, Diana (equated with Hecate) gives existence, Proserpine (equated with "Soul") gives form, and Minerva (equated with "Virtue") gives intellect. In his commentary on Proclus, the 19th century Platonist scholar Thomas Taylor expanded upon the theology of the classical philosophers, further interpreting the nature and roles of the gods in light of the whole body of Neoplatonist philosophy. He cites Plato in giving a three-form aspect to her central characteristic of virginity: the undefiled, the mundane, and the anagogic. Through the first form, Diana is regarded as a "lover of virginity". Through the second, she is the guardian of virtue. Through the third, she is considered to "hate the impulses arising from generation." Through the principle of the undefiled, Taylor suggests that she is given supremacy in Proclus' triad of life-giving or animating deities, and in this role the theurgists called her Hekate. In this role, Diana is granted undefiled power (''Amilieti'') from the other gods. This generative power does not proceed forth from the goddess (according to a statement by the
Oracle of Delphi Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness ...
) but rather resides with her, giving her unparalleled virtue, and in this way she can be said to embody virginity.Taylor, T. 1816. ''The Six Books of Proclus, the Platonic Successor, on the Theology of Plato''. Later commentators on Proclus have clarified that the virginity of Diana is not an absence of sexual drive, but a renunciation of sexuality. Diana embodies virginity because she generates but precedes active fertility (within Neoplatonism, an important maxim is that "every productive cause is superior to the nature of the produced effect").Rangos, S. 200
Proclus and Artemis: On the Relevance of Neoplatonism to the Modern Study of Ancient Religion.
''Kernos'' nline 13 , 2000, Online since 21 April 2011, connection on 01 May 2019. DOI : 10.4000/kernos.1293
Using the ancient Neoplatonists as a basis, Taylor also commented on the triadic nature of Diana and related goddesses, and the ways in which they subsist within one another, partaking unevenly in each other's powers and attributes. For example,
Kore Kore may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Kore (comics), a comic-book series by Josh Blaylock and Tim Seeley *Kore (producer), French-Algerian music producer, also part of duo Kore & Skalp *Kore (sculpture), a type of ancient Greek sculpture dep ...
is said to embody both Diana/Hecate and
Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...
, who create the virtuous or virgin power within her, but also Proserpine (her sole traditional identification), through whom the generative power of the Kore as a whole is able to proceed forth into the world, where it joins with the
demiurge In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term ''demiurge''. Al ...
to produce further deities, including Bacchus and "nine azure-eyed, flower-producing daughters". Proclus also included Artemis/Diana in a second triad of deities, along with
Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
and
Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...
. According to Proclus: :"The life-generating triad begins with Demeter who engenders the entire encosmic life, namely intellectual life, psychic life and the life that is inseparable from body; Hera who brings forth the birth of soul occupies the cohering middle position (for the intellectual goddess outpours from herself all the processions of the psychic kinds); finally, Artemis has been assigned to the end of the trinity because she activates all the natural formative principles and perfects the self-completeness of matter; it is for this reason, namely because she supervises natural development and natural birth, that the theologians and Socrates in the ''Theaetetus'' call her Lochia." Proclus pointed to the conflict between Hera and Artemis in the ''Illiad'' as a representation of the two kinds of human souls. Where Hera creates the higher, more cultured, or "worthy" souls, Artemis brings light to and perfects the "less worthy" or less rational. As explained by Ragnos (2000), "The aspect of reality which Artemis and Hera share, and because of which they engage in a symbolic conflict, is the engendering of life." Hera elevates rational living beings up to intellectual rational existence, whereas Artemis's power pertains to human life as far as its physical existence as a living thing. "Artemis deals with the most elementary forms of life or the most elementary part of all life, whereas Hera operates in the most elevated forms of life or the most elevated part of all life.


Worship in Post Roman Europe

Sermons and other religious documents have provided evidence for the worship of Diana during the Middle Ages. Though few details have been recorded, enough references to Diana worship during the early Christian period exist to give some indication that it may have been relatively widespread among remote and rural communities throughout Europe, and that such beliefs persisted into the
Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
period.Filotas, Bernadette. ''Pagan Survivals, Superstitions and Popular Cultures in Early Medieval Pastoral Literature.'' PIMS, 2005. , 9780888441515 References to contemporary Diana worship exist from the 6th century on the Iberian peninsula and what is now southern France, though more detailed accounts of Dianic cults were given for the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
, and southern Belgium in particular. Many of these were probably local goddesses, and wood nymphs or
dryad A dryad (; el, Δρυάδες, ''sing''.: ) is a tree nymph or tree spirit in Greek mythology. ''Drys'' (δρῦς) signifies "oak" in Greek, and dryads were originally considered the nymphs of oak trees specifically, but the term has evolved to ...
s, which had been conflated with Diana by Christian writers Latinizing local names and traditions.


In the Low Countries

The 6th century bishop
Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...
reported meeting with a deacon named Vulfilaic (also known as Saint Wulflaicus or Walfroy the
Stylite A stylite ( grc, στυλίτης () 'pillar dweller', derived from () 'pillar' and syc, ܐܣܛܘܢܐ ()) or pillar-saint is a type of Christian ascetic who lives on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites believe that the mortifi ...
), who founded a hermitage on a hill in what is now
Margut Margut () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. Geography Access Margut is a small village of 860 inhabitants located in the canton of Carignan, in the eastern part of the department of Ardennes. Administratively attached ...
, France. On the same hill, he found "an image of Diana which the unbelieving people worshiped as a god." According to Gregory's report, worshipers would also sing chants in Diana's honor as they drank and feasted. Vulfilaic destroyed a number of smaller pagan statues in the area, but the statue of Diana was too large. After converting some of the local population to Christianity, Vulfilaic and a group of local residents attempted to pull the large statue down the mountain in order to destroy it, but failed, as it was too large to be moved. In Vulfilaic's account, after praying for a miracle, he was then able to single-handedly pull down the statue, at which point he and his group smashed it to dust with their hammers. According to Vulfilaic, this incident was quickly followed by an outbreak of pimples or sores that covered his entire body, which he attributed to demonic activity and similarly cured via what he described as a miracle. Vulfilaic would later found a church on the site, which is today known as Mont Saint-Walfroy. Additional evidence for surviving pagan practices in the Low Countries region comes from the ''Vita Eligii'', or "Life of
Saint Eligius Saint Eligius (also Eloy, Eloi or Loye; french: Éloi; 11 June 588 – 1 December 660 AD) is the patron saint of goldsmiths, other metalworkers, and Coin collecting, coin collectors. He is also the patron saint of veterinarians, the Royal Elect ...
", written by
Audoin Alduin (Langobardic: ''Aldwin'' or ''Hildwin'', ; also called Auduin or Audoin) was king of the Lombards from 547 to 560. Life Audoin was of the Gausi, a prominent Lombard ruling clan, and according to the ''Historia Langobardorum'', the son ...
in the 7th century. Audoin drew together the familiar admonitions of Eligius to the people of
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
. In his sermons, he denounced "pagan customs" that the people continued to follow. In particular, he denounced several Roman gods and goddesses alongside
Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...
ic mythological beliefs and objects:
"I denounce and contest, that you shall observe no sacrilegious pagan customs. For no cause or infirmity should you consult magicians, diviners, sorcerers or incantators. ..Do not observe
augur An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...
ies ... No influence attaches to the first work of the day or the hase of themoon. ...
o not O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...
make vetulas, little deer or iotticos or set tables at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks... No Christian... performs solestitia or dancing or leaping or diabolical chants. No Christian should presume to invoke the name of a demon, not Neptune or Orcus or Diana or Minerva or Geniscus... No one should observe Jove's day in idleness. ... No Christian should make or render any devotion to the gods of the trivium, where three roads meet, to the
fanes Fanes (Greek: Φάνες) is a village in the northeast part of Rhodes. The main village is situated around 1 km inland. Fanes has had extensive farm fields, near the coast and along the adjacent hills. It also has a small natural bay which wa ...
or the rocks, or springs or groves or corners. None should presume to hang any phylacteries from the neck of man nor beast. ..None should presume to make lustrations or incantations with herbs, or to pass cattle through a hollow tree or ditch ... No woman should presume to hang amber from her neck or call upon Minerva or other ill-starred beings in their weaving or dyeing. .. None should call the sun or moon lord or swear by them. .. No one should tell
fate Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...
or fortune or
horoscope A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...
s by them as those do who believe that a person must be what he was born to be."
Legends from medieval
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
concern a natural spring which came to be known as the "Fons Remacli", a location which may have been home to late-surviving worship of Diana. Remacle was a monk appointed by Eligius to head a monastery at
Solignac Solignac (; oc, Solenhac) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. Geography The village lies on the right bank of the Briance, which flows westward through the commune. It contains t ...
, and he is reported to have encountered Diana worship in the area around the river
Warche The Warche is a river in eastern Belgium (province of Liège). From its source at Losheimergraben on the Belgian-German border, it flows roughly west about , across the south of the Hautes Fagnes region. It passes through the town of Malmedy, a ...
. The population in this region was said to have been involved in the worship of "Diana of the
Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
" (a syncretism of Diana and the
Celtic goddess The gods and goddesses of the pre-Christian Celtic peoples are known from a variety of sources, including ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, cult objects and place or personal names. The ancient Celts appear to have had a pantheon ...
Arduinna In Gallo-Roman religion, Arduinna (also Arduina, Arduinnae or Arduinne) was the eponymous tutelary goddess of the Ardennes Forest and region, thought to be represented as a huntress riding a boar (primarily in the present-day regions of Belgium an ...
), with effigies and "stones of Diana" used as evidence of pagan practices. Remacle believed that demonic entities were present in the spring, and had caused it to run dry. He performed and exorcism of the water source, and installed a lead pipe, which allowed the water to flow again.Arnold, Ellen F. ''Negotiating the Landscape: Environment and Monastic Identity in the Medieval Ardennes'' (The Middle Ages Series). University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012. , 9780812207521.


The "Society of Diana"

Diana is the only pagan goddess mentioned by name in the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
(only in some Bible versions of
Acts 19 Acts 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records part of the third missionary journey of Paul the Apostle, Paul. The author of the book containing this chapter is anonymous but e ...
; many other Bibles refer to her as
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
instead). As a result, she became associated with many folk beliefs involving goddess-like supernatural figures that
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
clergy wished to demonize. In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, legends of night-time processions of spirits led by a female figure are recorded in the church records of
Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
, western Germany, and southern France. The spirits were said to enter houses and consume food which then miraculously re-appeared. They would sing and dance, and dispense advice regarding healing herbs and the whereabouts of lost objects. If the house was in good order, they would bring fertility and plenty. If not, they would bring curses to the family. Some women reported participating in these processions while their bodies still lay in bed. Historian
Carlo Ginzburg Carlo Ginzburg (; born April 15, 1939) is an Italian historian and proponent of the field of microhistory. He is best known for ''Il formaggio e i vermi'' (1976, English title: ''The Cheese and the Worms''), which examined the beliefs of an Ital ...
has referred to these legendary spirit gatherings as "The Society of Diana". Local clergy complained that women believed they were following Diana or
Herodias Herodias ( el, Ἡρῳδιάς, ''Hērǭdiás''; ''c.'' 15 BC – after AD 39) was a princess of the Herodian dynasty of Judaea during the time of the Roman Empire. Christian writings connect her with John the Baptist's execution. Family relat ...
, riding out on appointed nights to join the processions or carry out instructions from the goddess.Magliocco, Sabina. (2009). Aradia in Sardinia: The Archaeology of a Folk Character. Pp. 40-60 in ''Ten Years of Triumph of the Moon''. Hidden Publishing. The earliest reports of these legends appear in the writings of
Regino of Prüm Regino of Prüm or of Prum ( la, Regino Prumiensis, german: Regino von Prüm; died 915 AD) was a Benedictine monk, who served as abbot of Prüm (892–99) and later of Saint Martin's at Trier, and chronicler, whose ''Chronicon'' is an important s ...
in the year 899, followed by many additional reports and variants of the legend in documents by
Ratherius Ratherius (887–890 AD – 974 AD) or Rathier or Rather of Verona was a teacher, writer, and bishop. His difficult personality and political activities led to his becoming an exile and a wanderer. Early life and career He was born sometime betw ...
and others. By 1310, the names of the goddess figures attached to the legend were sometimes combined as Herodiana. It is likely that the clergy of this time used the identification of the procession's leader as Diana or Herodias in order to fit an older folk belief into a Biblical framework, as both are featured and demonized in the New Testament. Herodias was often conflated with her daughter Salome in legend, which also holds that, upon being presented with the severed head of
John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
, she was blown into the air by wind from the saint's mouth, through which she continued to wander for eternity. Diana was often conflated with
Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...
, a goddess associated with the spirits of the dead and with witchcraft. These associations, and the fact that both figures are attested to in the Bible, made them a natural fit for the leader of the ghostly procession. Clergy used this identification to assert that the spirits were evil, and that the women who followed them were inspired by demons. As was typical of this time period, though pagan beliefs and practices were near totally eliminated from Europe, the clergy and other authorities still treated paganism as a real threat, in part thanks to biblical influence; much of the Bible had been written when various forms of paganism were still active if not dominant, so medieval clergy applied the same kinds of warnings and admonitions for any non-standard folk beliefs and practices they encountered. Based on analysis of church documents and parishioner confessions, it is likely that the spirit identified by the Church as Diana or Herodias was called by names of pre-Christian figures like
Holda "Frau Holle" ( ; also known as "Mother Holle", "Mother Hulda" or "Old Mother Frost") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Children's and Household Tales'' in 1812 (KHM 24). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 480. Frau Holle (als ...
(a Germanic goddess of the winter solstice), or with names referencing her bringing of prosperity, like the Latin Abundia (meaning "plenty"), Satia (meaning "full" or "plentiful") and the Italian Richella (meaning "rich"). Some of the local titles for her, such as ''bonae res'' (meaning "good things"), are similar to late classical titles for Hecate, like ''bona dea''. This might indicate a cultural mixture of medieval folk ideas with holdovers from earlier pagan belief systems. Whatever her true origin, by the 13th century, the leader of the legendary spirit procession had come to be firmly identified with Diana and Herodias through the influence of the Church.


Modern development and folklore


''The Golden Bough''

In his wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, ''
The Golden Bough ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion'' (retitled ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion'' in its second edition) is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir ...
'', anthropologist
James George Frazer Sir James George Frazer (; 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941) was a Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion. Personal life He was born on 1 Janua ...
drew on various lines of evidence to re-interpret the legendary rituals associated with Diana at
Nemi Nemi is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome (central Italy), in the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Nemi, a volcanic crater lake. It is northwest of Velletri and about southeast of Rome. The town's name derives from the Lat ...
, particularly that of the ''rex Nemorensis''. Frazer developed his ideas in relation to J. M. W. Turner's painting, also titled ''
The Golden Bough ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion'' (retitled ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion'' in its second edition) is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir ...
'', depicting a dream-like vision of the woodland lake of Nemi. According to Frazer, the ''rex Nemorensis'' or king at Nemi was the incarnation of a
dying and reviving god A dying-and-rising, death-rebirth, or resurrection deity is a religious motif in which a god or goddess dies and is resurrected.Leeming, "Dying god" (2004)Miles 2009, 193 Examples of gods who die and later return to life are most often cited f ...
, a
solar deity A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...
who participated in a mystical marriage to a goddess. He died at the harvest and was reincarnated in the spring. Frazer claimed that this motif of death and rebirth is central to nearly all of the world's religions and mythologies. In Frazer's theory, Diana functioned as a goddess of fertility and childbirth, who, assisted by the sacred king, ritually returned life to the land in spring. The king in this scheme served not only as a high priest but as a god of the grove. Frazer identifies this figure with
Virbius upright=1.3, ''The Death of Hippolytus'', by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912) In Greek mythology, Hippolytus ( el, Ἱππόλυτος'', Hippolytos'' 'unleasher of horses'; ) is the son of Theseus and either Hippolyta or Antiope. His d ...
, of which little is known, but also with
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
via an association with sacred oak trees. Frazer argued furthermore that Jupiter and Juno were simply duplicate names of Jana and
Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
; that is, Diana and
Dianus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
, all of whom had identical functions and origins. Frazer's speculatively reconstructed folklore of Diana's origins and the nature of her cult at Nemi were not well received even by his contemporaries. Godfrey Lienhardt noted that even during Frazer's lifetime, other anthropologists had "for the most part distanced themselves from his theories and opinions", and that the lasting influence of ''The Golden Bough'' and Frazer's wider body of work "has been in the literary rather than the academic world." Robert Ackerman wrote that, for anthropologists, Frazer is "an embarrassment" for being "the most famous of them all" and that most distance themselves from his work. While ''The Golden Bough'' achieved wide "popular appeal" and exerted a "disproportionate" influence "on so many 0th centurycreative writers", Frazer's ideas played "a much smaller part" in the history of academic social anthropology.


''The Gospel of the Witches''

Folk legends like the Society of Diana, which linked the goddess to forbidden gatherings of women with spirits, may have influenced later works of folklore. One of these is
Charles Godfrey Leland Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensivel ...
's '' Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'', which prominently featured Diana at the center of an Italian witch-cult. In Leland's interpretation of supposed Italian folk witchcraft, Diana is considered Queen of the Witches. In this belief system, Diana is said to have created the world of her own being having in herself the seeds of all creation yet to come. It was said that out of herself she divided the darkness and the light, keeping for herself the darkness of creation and creating her brother
Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...
. Diana was believed to have loved and ruled with her brother, and with him bore a daughter,
Aradia Aradia is one of the principal figures in the American folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland's 1899 work '' Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'', which he believed to be a genuine religious text used by a group of pagan witches in Tuscany, a claim ...
(a name likely derived from Herodias), who leads and teaches the witches on earth. Leland's claim that ''Aradia'' represented an authentic tradition from an underground witch-cult, which had secretly worshiped Diana since ancient times has been dismissed by most scholars of folklore, religion, and medieval history. After the 1921 publication of
Margaret Murray Margaret Alice Murray (13 July 1863 – 13 November 1963) was an Anglo-Indian Egyptology, Egyptologist, archaeology, archaeologist, anthropology, anthropologist, historian, and folkloristics, folklorist. The first woman to be appointed as a l ...
's ''The Witch-cult in Western Europe'', which hypothesized that the European
witch trials A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern per ...
were actually a persecution of a pagan religious survival, American sensationalist author Theda Kenyon's 1929 book ''Witches Still Live'' connected Murray's thesis with the witchcraft religion in ''Aradia''.Hutton, 2000, p. 199.Clifton, p. 62. Arguments against Murray's thesis would eventually include arguments against Leland. Witchcraft scholar Jeffrey Russell devoted some of his 1980 book ''A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics and Pagans'' to arguing against the claims Leland presented in ''Aradia''. Historian Elliot Rose's ''A Razor for a Goat'' dismissed ''Aradia'' as a collection of incantations unsuccessfully attempting to portray a religion. In his book ''Triumph of the Moon'', historian
Ronald Hutton Ronald Edmund Hutton (born 19 December 1953) is an English historian who specialises in Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and Contemporary Paganism. He is a professor at the University of Bristol, has written 14 bo ...
doubted not only of the existence of the religion that ''Aradia'' claimed to represent, and that the traditions Leland presented were unlike anything found in actual
medieval literature Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of t ...
,Hutton, 2000, pp. 145–148. but also of the existence of Leland's sources, arguing that it is more likely that Leland created the entire story than that Leland could be so easily "duped". Religious scholar Chas S. Clifton took exception to Hutton's position, writing that it amounted to an accusation of "serious literary fraud" made by an " argument from absence".Clifton, p. 67. Building on the work of Frazer, Murray, and others, some 20th and 21st century authors have attempted to identify links between Diana and more localized deities. R. Lowe Thompson, for example, in his 2013 book ''The History of the Devil'', speculated that Diana may have been linked as an occasional "spouse" to the Gaulish horned god
Cernunnos In ancient Celtic and Gallo-Roman religion, Cernunnos or Carnonos was a god depicted with antlers, seated cross-legged, and is associated with stags, horned serpents, dogs and bulls. He is usually shown holding or wearing a torc and somet ...
. Thompson suggested that Diana in her role as wild goddess of the hunt would have made a fitting consort for Cernunnos in Western Europe, and further noted the link between Diana as Proserpina with Pluto, the Greek god associated with the riches of the earth who served a similar role to the Gaulish Cernunnos.


Modern worship

Because Leland's claims about an Italian witch-cult are questionable, the first verifiable worship of Diana in the modern age was probably begun by
Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...
. The earliest known practitioners of Neopagan witchcraft were members of a tradition begun by
Gerald Gardner Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist. He was instrumental in bringing the Contemporary Pag ...
. Published versions of the devotional materials used by Gardner's group, dated to 1949, are heavily focused on the worship of
Aradia Aradia is one of the principal figures in the American folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland's 1899 work '' Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'', which he believed to be a genuine religious text used by a group of pagan witches in Tuscany, a claim ...
, the daughter of Diana in Leland's folklore. Diana herself was recognized as an aspect of a single "great goddess" in the tradition of
Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...
, as described in the Wiccan
Charge of the Goddess The Charge of the Goddess (or Charge of the Star Goddess) is an inspirational text often used in the neopagan religion of Wicca. The Charge of the Goddess is recited during most rituals in which the Wiccan priest/priestess is expected to represent, ...
(itself adapted from Leland's text).Kelly, A. ''The Gardnerian Book of Shadows''. Accessed online 26 Nov 2018 at http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gbos/index.htm Some later Wiccans, such as
Scott Cunningham Scott Douglas Cunningham (June 27, 1956 – March 28, 1993) was an American writer. Cunningham is the author of several books on Wicca and various other alternative religious subjects. His work ''Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'' ...
, would replace Aradia with Diana as the central focus of worship.Cunningham, S. (2009). ''Cunningham's Book of Shadows: The Path of An American Traditionalist''. . Llewellyn: Woodbury, MN. In the early 1960s,
Victor Henry Anderson Victor Henry Anderson (May 21, 1917 – September 20, 2001) was an American priest and poet. He was co-founder of the Feri Tradition, a Modern Paganism, modern Pagan new religious movement established in California during the 1960s. Much of his p ...
founded the
Feri Tradition The Feri Tradition is an initiatory tradition of modern Pagan witchcraft. It was founded in California in the 1960s by the Americans Victor Henry Anderson and his wife Cora Anderson. Practitioners have described it as an ecstatic tradition rather ...
, a form of Wicca that draws from both Charles Leland's folklore and the Gardnerian tradition. Anderson claimed that he had first been initiated into a witchcraft tradition as a child in 1926, and that he had been told the name of the goddess worshiped by witches was Tana.Faerywolf, S. (2018). ''Forbidden Mysteries of Faery Witchcraft''. Llewellyn Worldwide. , 9780738756646 The name Tana originated in Leland's ''Aradia'', where he claimed it was an old
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...
name for Diana. The Feri Tradition founded by Anderson continues to recognize Tana/Diana as an aspect of the Star Goddess related to the element of fire, and representing "the fiery womb that gives birth to and transforms all matter." (In ''Aradia'', Diana is also credited as the creatrix of the material world and Queen of FaeriesGary, Gemma (2018). "Forward". In Leland, Charles G. ''Aradia or the Gospel of Witches''. London: Troy Books Publishing.). A few Wiccan traditions would elevate Diana to a more prominent position of worship, and there are two distinct modern branches of Wicca focused primarily on Diana. The first, founded during the early 1970s in the United States by Morgan McFarland and Mark Roberts, has a
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
theology and only occasionally accepts male participants, and leadership is limited to female priestesses. McFarland Dianic Wiccans base their tradition primarily on the work of
Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...
and his book ''
The White Goddess ''The White Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth'' is a book-length essay on the nature of poetic myth-making by author and poet Robert Graves. First published in 1948, the book is based on earlier articles published in ''Wales'' magazi ...
'', and were inspired by references to the existence of medieval European "Dianic cults" in
Margaret Murray Margaret Alice Murray (13 July 1863 – 13 November 1963) was an Anglo-Indian Egyptology, Egyptologist, archaeology, archaeologist, anthropology, anthropologist, historian, and folkloristics, folklorist. The first woman to be appointed as a l ...
's book ''
The Witch-Cult in Western Europe ''The Witch-Cult in Western Europe'' is a 1921 anthropological book by Margaret Murray, published at the height of the success of Frazer's '' Golden Bough.'' Certain university circles subsequently celebrated Margaret Murray as the expert on west ...
''. The second Dianic tradition, founded by
Zsuzsanna Budapest Zsuzsanna Emese Mokcsay (born 30 January 1940 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian author, activist, journalist, playwright and songwriter living in America who writes about feminist spirituality and Dianic Wicca under the pen name Zsuzsanna Buda ...
in the mid 1970s, is characterized by an exclusive focus on the feminine aspect of the divine, and as a result is exclusively female. This tradition combines elements from
British Traditional Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...
, Italian folk-magic based on the work of Charles Leland, feminist values, and healing practices drawn from a variety of different cultures.Budapest, Zsuzsanna. ''Holy Book of Women's Mysteries'', The. 1980 (2003 electronic). . Adler, Margot. ''Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today''. Boston: Beacon press, 1979; 1986. . Chapter 8: Women, Feminism, and the Craft". A third
Neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
tradition heavily inspired by the worship of Diana through the lens of Italian folklore is
Stregheria Stregheria () is the root form of witchcraft originating in Southern Europe, but also includes Italian American witchcraft. Stregheria is sometimes referred to as ''La Vecchia Religione'' (" the Old Religion"). The word '' stregheria'' is an archa ...
, founded in the 1980s. It centers around a pair of deities regarded as divine lovers, who are known by several variant names including Diana and
Dianus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
, alternately given as Tana and Tanus or Jana and Janus (the later two deity names were mentioned by James Frazer in ''The Golden Bough'' as later corruptions of Diana and Dianus, which themselves were alternate and possibly older names for Juno and
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
). The tradition was founded by author Raven Grimassi, and influenced by Italian folktales he was told by his mother. One such folktale describes the moon being impregnated by her lover the morning star, a parallel to Leland's mythology of Diana and her lover Lucifer.Magliocco, Sabina. (2006)
Italian American Stregheria and Wicca: Ethnic Ambivalence in American Neopaganism
Pp. 55-86 in Michael Strmiska, ed., ''Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives''. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio.
Diana was also a subject of worship in certain
Feraferia Feraferia is a Neopagan religion with a community that began in Southern California and now spans the United States and parts of Europe. Members of this community practice Hellenic-inspired Goddess worship. The founder of the group, Fredrick M ...
n rites, particularly those surrounding the autumnal equinox, beginning in 1967.


Legacy


In language

Both the
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
words for "
fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...
" ''Zână''
Zână
' in DEX '98''
and
Sânziană ''Sânziană'' is the Romanian language, Romanian name for gentle Fairy, fairies who play an important part in Romanian folklore, local folklore, also used to designate the ''Galium verum'' or ''Cruciata laevipes'' flowers. Under the plural form ...
, the Leonese and
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
word for "water nymph" ''
xana The xana is a character found in Asturian mythology. Always female, she is a creature of extraordinary beauty believed to live in fountains, rivers, waterfalls or forested regions with pure water. She is usually described as small or slender wit ...
'', and the Spanish word for "shooting target" and "morning call" (''diana'') seem to come from the name of Diana.


In the arts

Since the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, Diana's myths have often been represented in the visual and dramatic arts, including the opera ''
L'arbore di Diana ''L'arbore di Diana'' (''The Tree of Diana''), is an opera in two acts composed by Vicente Martín y Soler, with an original libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 October 1787. Background and performance ...
''. In the 16th century, Diana's image figured prominently at the châteaus of
Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...
, Chenonceau, & at
Anet Anet () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It lies 14 km north-northeast of Dreux between the rivers Eure and Vesgre, the latter flowing into the former some 4 km no ...
, in deference to
Diane de Poitiers Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and prominent courtier. She wielded much power and influence as King Henry II's royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position increased her wealth and family' ...
, mistress of Henri of France. At
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
she was incorporated into the Olympian iconography with which
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...
, the Apollo-like "Sun King" liked to surround himself. Diana is also a character in the 1876
Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and '' Sylvia'' (1876) and the opera ''Lakm ...
ballet '' Sylvia''. The plot deals with Sylvia, one of Diana's nymphs and sworn to chastity, and Diana's assault on Sylvia's affections for the shepherd Amyntas.


In literature

* In "
The Knight's Tale "The Knight's Tale" ( enm, The Knightes Tale) is the first tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales''. The Knight is described by Chaucer in the "General Prologue" as the person of highest social standing amongst the pilgrims, t ...
" in
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
's ''
The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''Masterpiece, ...
'', Emily prays to Diana to be spared from marriage to either Palamon or Arcite. * In "Ode" by
John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...
, he writes 'Browsed by none but Dian's fawns' (line 12) * In the sonnet "To Science" by
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
, science is said to have "dragged Diana from her car". * Diana Soren, the main character in
Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), ''The Old Gringo'' (1985) and ''Christophe ...
' novel ''Diana o la cazadora soltera'' (''Diana, or The Lone Huntress''), is described as having the same personality as the goddess. * In "Castaway" by
Augusta Webster Augusta Webster (30 January 1837 – 5 September 1894) born in Poole, Dorset as Julia Augusta Davies, was an England, English poet, dramatist, essayist, and translation, translator. Biography Augusta was the daughter of Vice-admiral George Dav ...
, women who claim they are virtuous despite never having been tempted are referred to as "Dianas". (Line 128) * In Jonathan Swift's poem: "The Progress of Beauty", as goddess of the moon, Diana is used in comparison to the 17th/early 18th century everyday woman Swift satirically writes about. Starts: 'When first Diana leaves her bed...' * In Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''
Historia Regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...
'' ("History of the Kings of Britain"), Diana leads the Trojan Brutus to Britain, where he and his people settle. * The character of Diana is the principal character in the children's novel ''The Moon Stallion'' by
Brian Hayles Brian Leonard Hayles (7 March 1931 – 30 October 1978) was an English television and film writer, most notably for the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. Doctor Who Hayles wrote six stories for ''Doctor Who'' and is best known for his ...
(1978) and the BBC Television series of the same name ''Diana'' is played by the actress
Sarah Sutton Sarah Sutton (born 12 December 1961) is a British actress. She played the role of Nyssa in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Early life Sutton was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. Sutton studied ballet as ...
. * In
Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million co ...
's ''
Camp Half-Blood Chronicles ''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles'' is a media franchise created by author Rick Riordan, encompassing three five-part novel series, two short-story collections, two myth anthology books, a stand-alone short story, three crossover short stories, an es ...
'', Diana acts as the Roman incarnation of
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
, although she doesn't appear until ''
The Tyrant's Tomb ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
''. Throughout ''
The Heroes of Olympus ''The Heroes of Olympus'' is a pentalogy of fantasy-adventure novels written by American author Rick Riordan. The novels detail a conflict between Greek demigods, Roman demigods, and Gaia (Roman name Terra). In the fourth book of the series, t ...
'', along with the other gods, Artemis is split between her Greek and Roman incarnations. In ''The Tyrant's Tomb'',
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
summons his sister for help against Tarquin and his undead army. Diana appears with the Hunters of Artemis to slay Tarquin and his army and she heals Apollo's wounds before departing again. ;In Shakespeare * In
Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
''
Pericles, Prince of Tyre ''Pericles, Prince of Tyre'' is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio. It was pu ...
'' Diana appears to Pericles in a vision, telling him to go to her temple and tell his story to her followers. * Diana is referenced in ''
As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...
'' to describe how Rosalind feels about marriage. * Diana is referred to in ''
Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
'' when Orsino compares Viola (in the guise of Cesario) to Diana. "Diana's lip is not more smooth and rubious". * Speaking of his wife, Desdemona,
Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
the
Moor Moor or Moors may refer to: Nature and ecology * Moorland, a habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation and acidic soils. Ethnic and religious groups * Moors, Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during ...
says, "Her name, that was as fresh as Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black as my own face." * There is a reference to Diana in ''
Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...
'' where Hero is said to seem like 'Dian in her orb', in terms of her chastity. * In ''
Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...
'', Falstaff styles himself and his highway-robbing friends as "Diana's foresters, gentlemen of the shade, minions of the moon" who are governed by their "noble and chase mistress the moon under whose countenance
hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
steal". * In '' All's Well That Ends Well'' Diana appears as a figure in the play and Helena makes multiple allusions to her, such as, "Now, Dian, from thy altar do I fly..." and "...wish chastely and love dearly, that your Dian/was both herself and love..." The Steward also says, "...; Dian no queen of virgins,/ that would suffer her poor knight surprised, without/ rescue in the first assault or ransom afterward." It can be assumed that 'Dian' is simply a shortening of 'Diana' since later in the play when Parolles' letter to Diana is read aloud it reads 'Dian'. * The goddess is also referenced indirectly in ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
''. The character Hippolyta states "And then the moon, like to a silver bow new bent in Heaven". She refers to Diana, goddess of the moon, who is often depicted with a silver hunting bow. In the same play the character Hermia is told by the Duke, Theseus that she must either wed the character Demetrius "Or on Diana's alter to protest for aye austerity and single life". He is referring to her becoming a nun, with the goddess Diana having connotations of chastity. * In ''
The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...
'' Portia states "I will die as chaste as Diana, unless I be obtained by the manner of my father's will". (I.ii) * In ''
Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'', Romeo describes Rosaline, saying that "She hath Dian's wit". ;In games and comics * The character of Diana from the video game ''
League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...
'' is largely based on the goddess. * Dr.
William Moulton Marston William Moulton Marston (May 9, 1893 – May 2, 1947), also known by the pen name Charles Moulton (), was an American psychologist who, with his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth Holloway, invented an early prototype of the lie detector ...
drew from the Diana archetype as an allegorical basis for
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
's proper name, Princess Diana for
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. Most versions of Wonder Woman's origin story state that she is given the name Diana because her mother
Hippolyte In Classical Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; grc-gre, Ἱππολύτη ''Hippolytē'') was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope (Amazon) , Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' Zo ...
was inspired by the goddess of the moon that Diana was born under. * Diana also is one of the primary gods in the video game ''Ryse''. * In the manga and anime series ''
Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The seri ...
'', Diana is the feline companion to Chibiusa, Usagi's daughter. Diana is the daughter of Artemis and Luna. All of these characters are advisers to rulers of the kingdom of the moon and therefore have moon-associated names.


In painting and sculpture

Diana has been one of the most popular themes in art. Painters like
Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
,
Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
,
François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...
,
Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...
and made use of her myth as a major theme. Most depictions of Diana in art featured the stories of Diana and
Actaeon Actaeon (; grc, Ἀκταίων ''Aktaion''), in Greek mythology, son of the priestly herdsman Aristaeus and Autonoe in Boeotia, was a famous Theban hero. Like Achilles in a later generation, he was trained by the centaur Chiron. He fell to ...
, or
Callisto Callisto most commonly refers to: *Callisto (mythology), a nymph *Callisto (moon), a moon of Jupiter Callisto may also refer to: Art and entertainment *''Callisto series'', a sequence of novels by Lin Carter *''Callisto'', a novel by Torsten Kro ...
, or depicted her resting after hunting. Some famous work of arts with a Diana theme are: * ''
Diana and Actaeon The myth of Diana and Actaeon can be found in Ovid’s ''Metamorphoses''. The tale recounts the unfortunate fate of a young hunter named Actaeon, who was a grandson of Cadmus, and his encounter with chaste Artemis, known to the Romans as Diana ...
'', ''
Diana and Callisto ''Diana and Callisto'' is a painting completed between 1556 and 1559 by the Italian late Renaissance artist Titian. It portrays the moment in which the goddess Diana discovers that her maid Callisto has become pregnant by Jupiter. The paintin ...
'', and ''
Death of Actaeon ''The Death of Actaeon'' is a late work by the Italian Renaissance painter Titian, painted in oil on canvas from about 1559 to his death in 1576 and now in the National Gallery in London. It is very probably one of the two paintings the artist ...
'' by Titian. * ''
Diana and Callisto ''Diana and Callisto'' is a painting completed between 1556 and 1559 by the Italian late Renaissance artist Titian. It portrays the moment in which the goddess Diana discovers that her maid Callisto has become pregnant by Jupiter. The paintin ...
'', '' Diana Returning from the Hunt'', ''Diana Resting After a Bath'', and '' Diana Getting Out of Bath'' by
François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...
. * '' Diana Bathing With Her Nymphs'' by
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
. * ''Diana and Endymion'' by Poussin. * ''Diana and Callisto'', ''Diana and Her Nymph Departing From Hunt'', ''Diana and Her Nymphs Surprised By A Faun'' by Rubens. * ''Diana and Endymion'' by
Johann Michael Rottmayr Johann Michael Rottmayr (11 December 1656 – 25 October 1730) was an Austrian painter. Biography Rottmayr was born in Laufen an der Salzach, Bavaria. Along with his Laufen-born contemporary, Hans Adam Weissenkircher, he received his edu ...
. * ''Diana Wounded'', bronze statue by Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal, housed in
Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
of
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
(purchased 1908). * The famous fountain at
Palace of Caserta The Royal Palace of Caserta ( it, Reggia di Caserta ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. It is the largest palace erected in Euro ...
, Italy, created by Paolo Persico, Brunelli, Pietro Solari, depicting Diana being surprised by Acteon. * A sculpture by
Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain (11 October 1710, Paris – 17 April 1795, Paris) was a French sculptor who tempered a neoclassical style with Rococo charm and softness, under the influence of his much more famous brother-in-law, Jean-Baptiste ...
can be seen at the Musée du Louvre. * '' Diana of the Tower'' a copper statue by
Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he trave ...
was created as the weather vane for the second
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
in 1893. It now is on display at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
*
sculpture
by French sculptor
François-Léon Sicard François-Léon Sicard (April 21, 1862 – July 8, 1934) was a French sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th century. His credits include work on the adornments of the Louvre, and numerous sculptures around the world. Sicard was born in Tours, ...
in the Archibald Fountain, Sydney, NSW Australia * In Parma at the convent of San Paolo, Antonio Allegri da Correggio painted the chamber of the Abbess Giovanna Piacenza's apartment. He was commissioned in 1519 to paint the ceiling and mantel of the fireplace. On the mantel he painted an image of Diana riding in a chariot possibly pulled by a stag. * ''Fuente de la Diana Cazadora'' ountain of the Huntress Diana a fountain sculpture of huntress Diana with arrow pointing skyward, stands in the roundabout at
Paseo de la Reforma Paseo de la Reforma (translated as "Promenade of the Reform") is a wide avenue that runs diagonally across the heart of Mexico City. It was designed at the behest of Emperor Maximilian by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig during the era of the Secon ...
, Zona Rosa,
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
's Mexican Federal District. *
Beaux Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpora ...
and garden design (late 19th and early 20th centuries) used classic references in a modernized form. Two of the most popular of the period were of Pomona (goddess of orchards) as a metaphor for Agriculture, and Diana, representing Commerce, which is a perpetual hunt for advantage and profits. Many statues of Diana huntress in Yambol ,Bulgaria


In film

*In
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
's 1946 film '' La Belle et la Bête'', it is Diana's power which has transformed and imprisoned the beast. *Diana/
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
appears at the end of the 'Pastoral Symphony' segment of ''
Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
''. *In his 1968 film '' La Mariée était en noir''
François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...
plays on this mythological symbol. Julie Kohler, played by Jeanne Moreau, poses as Diana/
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
for the artist Fergus. This choice seems fitting for Julie, a character beset by revenge, of which Fergus becomes the fourth victim. She poses with a bow and arrow, while wearing white. * In the 1995 comedy ''
Four Rooms ''Four Rooms'' is a 1995 American anthology farce black comedy film co-written and co-directed by Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino, loosely based on the adult short fiction writings of Roald Dahl. The s ...
'', a coven of witches resurrects a petrified Diana on New Year's Eve. * French based collective LFKs and his film/theatre director, writer and visual artist Jean Michel Bruyere produced a series of 600 shorts and "medium" film, an interactive audiovisual 360° installation (''Si poteris narrare licet'' ("if you are able to speak of it, then you may do so" ...... ) in 2002, and a 3D 360° audiovisual installation ''La Dispersion du Fils'' from 2008 to 2016 as well as an outdoor performance, "Une Brutalité pastorale" (2000), all about the myth of Diana and Actaeon.


In music

* Diana is a character in ''
Hippolytus and Aricia ('' Hippolytus and Aricia'') was the first opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau. It was premiered to great controversy by the Académie Royale de Musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in Paris on October 1, 1733. The French libretto, by Abbé S ...
'', an
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
by
Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of Fr ...
. * Diana is mentioned along with two other goddesses,
Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...
and Lucina, in
Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...
's 1978 album, ''
Incantations An incantation, a spell, a charm, an enchantment or a bewitchery, is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremo ...
''. * For the album art of
progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...
band Protest the Hero's second studio album ''
Fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
'', Diana is depicted protected by rams and other animals. The theme of Diana is carried throughout the album. * The Norwegian classical
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...
Martin Romberg Martin Romberg (born 3 January 1978) is a Norwegian classical composer. He is one of the most active orchestral composers of his generation in Scandinavia. He is mostly known for his J.R.R Tolkien and fantasy literature inspired orchestral and c ...
wrote a
mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
for
mixed choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
in seven parts after a selection of poems from Leland's text ''Aradia'', in which Diana features heavily. The ''Witch Mass'' was premiered at the Vestfold International Festival in 2012 with
Grex Vocalis Grex Vocalis (The Singing Band) is a Norwegian chamber choir, formed in 1971 by Carl Høgset. The repertoire spans from the renaissance to music by contemporary composers. The choir has been awarded the Norwegian Spellemannprisen prize (the Norwegi ...
. In order to create the right atmosphere for the music, the festival blocked of an entire road tunnel in
Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative ce ...
to use it as a venue. The work was released on CD through Lawo Classics in 2014. * Artemis, and subsequently Diana, is used as focal point in “Artemis”, track twelve of AURORA’s 2022 album “The Gods We Can Touch”


Other

*In the funeral oration of
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
in 1997,
her brother is a 1960 Japanese drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. The film is based on the novel ''Otōto'' by Aya Koda. It was entered into the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, where it won a prize for Special Distinction. Plot 17-year-old Gen takes care ...
drew an analogy between the ancient goddess of hunting and his sister - "the most hunted person of the modern age". *DIANA Mayer & Grammelspacher GmbH & Co.KG, an airgun company, is named after Diana, the goddess of hunting. * The
Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...
323rd Squadron is named Diana and uses a depiction of Diana with her bow in its badge. * In
Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju ...
in Mexico a woman calling herself "Diana Huntress of Bus Drivers" was responsible for the shooting of two bus drivers in 2013 in what may have been vigilante attacks. *Diana is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of coral snake, ''
Micrurus diana ''Micrurus diana'', also known Common name, commonly as Diana's coral snake, is a species of venomous snake in the Family (biology), family Elapidae. The species is native to South America. Etymology The Specific name (zoology), specific name, ...
''. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Diana", p. 72). *Diana is also the name given to Wonder Woman of the DC Universe.


See also

*
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
*
Diana Nemorensis Diana Nemorensis ("Diana of Nemi"), also known as " Diana of the Wood", was an Italic form of the goddess who became Hellenised during the fourth century BC and conflated with Artemis. Her sanctuary was to be found on the northern shore of Lake ...
*
Dianic Wicca Dianic Wicca, also known as Dianic Witchcraft, and, to some also as "Dianism," "Dianic Feminist Witchcraft," or simply "Feminist Witchcraft"' is a modern pagan, goddess tradition, focused on female experience and empowerment. Leadership is by wo ...
*
Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
* Domus de Janas *
Pachamama Pachamama is a goddess revered by the indigenous peoples of the Andes. In Inca mythology she is an " Earth Mother" type goddess, Dransart, Penny. (1992) "Pachamama: The Inka Earth Mother of the Long Sweeping Garment." ''Dress and Gender: Making ...
*
List of lunar deities A lunar deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The following is a list of lunar deities: African American Aztec mythology * ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * *A. Alföldi "Diana Nemorensis" in ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 64 1960 p. 137-144. *A. Alföldi ''Early Rome and the Latins'' Ann Arbor 1964 p. 47-100. *E. Paribeni "A note on Diana Nemorensis" in ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 65 1961 p. 55. *P. J. Riis "The Cult Image of Diana Nemorensis" in ''Acta Archaeologica'' Kopenhagen 37 1966 p. 69 ff. * J. Heurgon in ''Magna Graecia'' 1969 Jan. Feb. 1969 p. 12 ff.; March Apr. p. 1ff. *J.G. Frazer ''Balder the Beautiful'' II London 1913 p. 95 ff.; 302 ff. *L. Morpurgo "Nemus Aricinum" in ''MonAntLincei'' 13 1903 c. 300 ff. *A. Merlin "L'Aventin dans l'antiquité" Paris BÉFAR 97 1906. *G. Wissowa ''Religion und Kultus der Römer'' Munich 1912 p. 198 ff. *F. Altheim ''Griechischen Götter im alten Rom'' Giessen 1930 p. 93-172. *A.E. Gordon "On the Origin of Diana" in ''Transactions of the AMerican Philological Association'' 63 1932 p. 177ff. *A.E. Gordon ''Local Cults in Aricia'' University of California Publications in Classical Archaeology 2 1934 p. 1ff. *J. Heurgon "Recherhes sur... Capoue préromaine" in BÉFAR 154 Paris 1942 p. 307 ff. *J. Gagé "Apollon Romain" in BÉFAR 182 Paris 1955. * J. Bayet ''Histoire politique et psychologique de la religion romaine'' Paris 1957 p. 20 ff., 39ff. *K. Latte ''Römische Religionsgeschichte'' Munich 1960 p. 169-173. * R. Schilling "Une victime des vicissitudes politiques, la Diane latine" in ''Hommages á Jean Bayet, Collection Latomus'' 45 Bruxelles 1960 p. 650 ff. *A. Momigliano "Sul dies natalis del santuario federale di Diana sull' Aventino" in ''RAL'' 17 1962 p. 387 ff. *G. Dumézil ''La religion romaine archaïque'' Paris 1966 p. 398 ff.


External links


''Landscape with Diana and Callisto'' paintingpage

''Diana and her Nymphs'' painting

The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database: ca 1150 images of Diana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diana (Mythology) Roman goddesses Deities in the Aeneid Lunar goddesses Hunting goddesses Animal goddesses Fertility goddesses Metamorphoses characters Divine twins Childhood goddesses Characters in Roman mythology Nature goddesses Night goddesses Dog deities Dii Consentes Artemis