Diana

Roman wild-hunt goddess; Italic Diana Nemorensis at Lake Nemi was the pre-urban Latin cult-center, with the Rex Nemorensis priesthood — a runaway slave who broke a branch from the sacred grove and killed the incumbent priest in single combat became the new priest, until in turn slain. The Aventine Temple founded by Servius Tullius was a federal Latin League sanctuary; Diana was patroness of slaves and the Aventine festival on August 13 was especially observed by the enslaved. Italic identity precedes the Greek Artemis equation. Per Frazer, The Golden Bough (1890); Beard/North/Price 1998; Green, Roman Religion and the Cult of Diana at Aricia (2007).

Parentage

• father: IuppiterParentage in the cited Latin account.Hyginus, Fabulae, Preface: diana (primary)
• mother: LatonaParentage in the cited Latin account.Hyginus, Fabulae, Preface: diana (primary)

Domains

• wild hunt
• crossroads trivia
• latin league protection

Powers

• Hides and remakes slain Hippolytus as Virbius
• Hunts wild beasts with bow and arrows
• Presides over crossroads as three-formed Trivia

Epithets

• Nemorensis latin · Nemorensis · cultOf the wood/grove; Diana of Lake Nemi and the Rex Nemorensis cultOv. Fast. 3.263-272; Strabo 5.3.12; Suet. Calig. 35 (primary)
• Trivia latin · Trivia · literaryOf the three ways/crossroads; Diana as the goddess of the crossroadsVerg. Aen. 6.13; 7.516; Catull. 34.15 (primary)
• Lucina latin · Lucina · literaryBringer to light; Diana as protectress of childbirthCatull. 34.13-14; Hor. Carm. Saec. 14-16 (primary)
• Aventina latin · Aventina · cultOf the Aventine; Diana of her great federal Latin temple at RomeLivy 1.45; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4.26 (primary)

Relations

• equated with: ArtemisDiana is the Roman state-cult equivalent of Greek Artemis; shared hunting/forests/moon iconography. The Aricine grove cult (Diana Nemorensis) and the Aventine cult (Diana Aventinensis) are pre-equation Italic foundations later harmonized with Hellenic Artemis-cult.Standard interpretatio Graeca/Romana scholarship; Beard, North & Price, Religions of Rome (1998); Wissowa, Religion und Kultus der Römer (1912) (secondary)
• interpretatio: ArtemisDiana ↔ Artemis per ancient interpretatio. The Italic Diana Nemorensis cult (Rex Nemorensis priesthood by combat, the Lake Nemi sanctuary, the slaves' festival, the foedus Latinum housing on the Aventine) is independent of and predates the Greek equation.Cic. Nat. D. 2.69; Cat. 34 (primary)
• father: IuppiterParentage in the cited Latin account.Hyginus, Fabulae, Preface: diana (primary)
• mother: LatonaParentage in the cited Latin account.Hyginus, Fabulae, Preface: diana (primary)

Sources

• existence: Liv. 1.45; Verg. Aen. 1.498-502, 7.483-510; Hor. Carm. saec.; Ov. Fast. 3.263-275; Strab. 5.3.12 (primary)
• rex-nemorensis: Strab. 5.3.12; Suet. Calig. 35; Serv. Aen. 6.136 (primary)