Belphoebe Belphoebe Belphoebe (or "Belphebe", "Belphœbe") is a character in Edmund Spenser's poem "The Faerie Queene" (1590), a representation of Queen Elizabeth I (conceived of, however, as a pure, high-spirited maiden, rather than a queen). Spenser intended her name to mean "beautiful Diana" (Phoebe being an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, who was known to the Romans as Diana), and it is suggested that she is a member of Poseidon's family. A virgin huntress, Belphoebe can certainly fight, as a potential rapist found out. She is the stronger, militant sister of Amoret. Belphoebe is mentioned in Kipling's poem "The
Diana and Endymion whom she had fifty daughters. The late 7th-century – early 6th-century BC poet Sappho had apparently already mentioned Selene and Endymion's history. In Roman mythology, Diana has the attributes of Selene and she was mentioned as the goddess who falls in love with Endymion. Both goddesses were regarded as lunar goddesses, except for the fact that in Roman mythology, Diana became a virgin goddess. "Diana and Endymion" is part of the last period of Solimena's works when he mainly concentrated on mythological subjects; he developed this interest in mythological stories while was inspired by the Arcadian movement embracing classical culture.