Diana (Roman goddess)

Diana , in Roman religion, goddess of the moon, forests, animals, and women in childbirth. She was probably originally a forest goddess and a special patroness of women. She was identified with the Greek Artemis , and at her temple on the Aventine at Rome she was honored as the virgin goddess. Her most famous cult, however, was at Aricia, near Lake Nemi; there she was worshiped as an earth goddess and was associated with fertility rites and with the Great Mother Goddess .

Diana. Roman goddess of hunting, chastity, the moon, and open places; counterpart of the Greek Artemis. Diana was worshipped widely in Roman Britain, and her name was venerated in many localities, including the Iron Age site of Maiden Castle, Dorsetshire. In Autun, France, Diana was regarded as a midday demon. Two possible Celtic counter-parts are the Irish Flidais, who drove a chariot drawn by deer, and Arduinna, the Gaulish boar-goddess.

Diana The Latin equivalent (used in AV, NJB) for the goddess Artemis (Acts 19: 28, NRSV, REB). But the Artemis worshipped at Ephesus was revered for her fertility powers, whereas Artemis (Diana) of Greek and Roman mythology was a huntress or the moon-goddess.