Charge of the Goddess opening paragraph names a collection of goddesses, some derived from Greek or Roman mythology, others from Celtic or Arthurian legends, affirming a belief that these various figures represent a single Great Mother: This theme echoes the ancient Roman belief that the Goddess Isis was known by ten thousand names and also that the Goddess still worshipped today by Wiccans and other neopagans is known under many guises but is in fact one universal divinity. The second paragraph is largely derived and paraphrased from the words that Aradia, the messianic daughter of Diana, speaks to her followers in Charles Godfrey Leland's
Nyctimene (mythology) Nyctimene (mythology) Nyctimene was, according to Roman mythology, the daughter of Epopeus, a king of Lesbos. Depending on which version of the story one reads, she was either raped or seduced by her father. Out of shame or guilt, she fled to the forest and refused to show her face in daylight. Taking pity on her, Minerva transformed her into the nocturnal owl which, in time, became a widespread symbol of the goddess. In "Metamorphoses", Cornix (the crow) complains that her place as Minerva's sacred bird is being usurped by Nyctimene, who is so ashamed of herself that she will