Diana

Diana, in Roman religion

Diana (dīăn`ə), in Roman religion, goddess of the moon, forests, animals, and women in childbirth. She was probably originally a forest goddess and a special patroness of women. She was identified with the Greek Artemis, and at her temple on the Aventine at Rome she was honored as the virgin goddess. Her most famous cult, however, was at Aricia, near Lake Nemi; there she was worshiped as an earth goddess and was associated with fertility rites and with the Great Mother Goddess.

---

Diana, princess of Wales

Diana, princess of Wales, 1961–97, wife of Charles, prince of Wales, heir to the British throne. The daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer, Lady Diana Frances Spencer was a kindergarten teacher in London before her 1981 marriage to Charles. They had two sons, the princes William (b. 1982) and Henry (b. 1984), but separated in 1992 and were divorced in 1996. Diana and Charles were rivals for acceptance by the British public after their marriage unraveled spectacularly; her death in a Paris car crash in Aug., 1997, brought a huge outpouring of sentiment.

Bibliography

See biographies by A. Morton (1992), S. B. Smith (1999), and A. Edwards (2000).

---

Diana

Roman goddess of nature, animals, and the hunt. As a fertility deity, she was invoked for aid in conception and childbirth. She was virtually indistinguishable from the Greek goddess Artemis. In her cult in Rome she was considered the protector of the lower classes, especially slaves.

---

Diana¹

title Diana, Princess of Wales, original name Lady Diana Frances Spencer. 1961--97, she married Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1981; they were divorced in 1996: died in a car crash in Paris

---

Diana²

the virginal Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon

---

DIANA - Descriptive Intermediate Attributed Notation for Ada