Latin

from the Aryan root Di, to “shine: the Roman moon gode . She was “tri-form is,” or with three aspects, as Phoebe in heaven, Hekaté in hell, and Luna on earth. She was the sister of Phoebus Apollo, and the daughter of Latona, or “night.” Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, worshiped her on the Aventine hill early in the 6th century Bc. She was the protectre of slaves and plebeians, and she dwelt in groves or forests, by lakes and wells, in which her image was seen. She was ever virgin, and smote with madne any male who entered her presence—or perhaps who slept in her beams. Yet she loved Endymion (Endumion) Pan, and Orion, and ki ed the first named on the Latian hill as he slept. Her chariot was drawn by heifers of varied colors, by horses, by two white stags, or by a lion and a panther, on which a boy god rides (see Rivers of Life, ii, p. 82): she walks crescent-crowned in heaven, attended by her dogs and virgins—stars le bright than herself. She has sometimes the three heads of a horse, dog, and boar, denoting seasons or phases. She first demanded human sacrifices, but later was content with bulls, goats, rams, boars, and white kids. She watched over women and beasts in labour, and was invoked as Lucina (“light”) in this aspect. She was called Trivia (“three ways”), and Diana of the Cro ways, where her images stood (see Aricia).