Diana (mythology) Diana (mythology) Diana (Classical Latin: ) is a Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, and nature, associated with wild animals and woodland. She is equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, and absorbed much of Artemis' mythology early in Roman history, including a birth on the island of Delos to parents Jupiter and Latona, and a twin brother, Apollo, though she had an independent origin in Italy. Diana was known as the virgin goddess of childbirth and women. She was one of the three maiden goddesses, along with Minerva and Vesta, who swore never to marry. Oak groves and deer
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.