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
Marcus Plancius Varus Pontus. During his time in Nicaea, the capital of the Roman province of Bithynia, Varus had struck coinage honoring the Roman State and of himself. At unknown date Varus married the Herodian Princess Julia, the daughter of King Tigranes VI of Armenia and sister of prince Gaius Julius Alexander. After concluding his governorship, Varus and Julia finally settled and lived in Perga, the capital of the Roman Province of Pamphylia. Julia bore Varus two children who were: Julia became a priestess and served in the temple of the Ancient Greek Goddess Artemis in Perga. Artemis was the most important Goddess