Skip to content
Diana, a MythSource painting
Roman

Diana

Diana Nemorensis · Diana Lucina · Diana Trivia

01Identity

Diana in Roman tradition

Her bow and arrows mark Diana as a huntress linked with deer, forests, wild animals, and the moon. She is a Roman goddess who also aids childbirth and is known as Diana Nemorensis, Diana Lucina, and Diana Trivia. She corresponds to Greek Artemis, but her Roman identity joins the hunt with lunar, childbirth, sacred grove, and crossroads associations.

Top questions

The quick answers

  • Who is Diana?

    Diana is a Roman deity associated with hunting; the moon; childbirth; wild animals; and forests and uncultivated nature.
    Source

    Source

    • A History of Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult
    • Classical Mythology a to Z
    • Fabulous Creatures, Mythical Monsters and Animal Power Symbols
    • The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion

  • What is Diana the goddess of?

    Diana is associated with hunting; the moon; childbirth; wild animals; and forests and uncultivated nature.
    Source

    Source

    • A History of Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult
    • Classical Mythology a to Z
    • Fabulous Creatures, Mythical Monsters and Animal Power Symbols
    • The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion

  • What family links are recorded for Diana?

    Father: Jupiter, Mother: Latona, 1 child, 1 sibling.
02Family

Diana’s family, at a glance

JupiterLatona
DianaApollo
Cupid
03The names

The names Diana answers to

Diana Nemorensis

Diana of the sacred grove

SourceThe Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion

Diana Lucina

Diana who brings light and aids childbirth

SourceClassical Mythology a to Z

Diana Trivia

Diana of the crossroads

SourceClassical Mythology a to Z

Diana Venatrix

Diana the huntress

SourceA History of Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult

04The myths

The myths of Diana

2 myths, with sources recorded for each.

Diana Transforms Actaeon

Actaeon came upon Diana and her attendants while they bathed. He was a famous hunter, and he approached the place without caution. Diana saw him standing naked in her sight and turned towards him with anger. She had no bow ready, so she took water in her hand and sprinkled his head and face. She then declared that he could tell his companions that he had seen Diana bare, if he could still speak at all.

The water changed Actaeon into a stag. Antlers spread from his head. His ears sharpened, his neck grew long and slender, and his fingers became feet. He tried to speak and tell his hounds that he was Actaeon, their lord and master, but he had lost the power of human speech. His hounds heard only the cry of a stag.

The pack chased him over hills, valleys, thick ground, and steep crags. Actaeon fled from the hounds that had once followed him in the hunt. First Slo bit his haunch. Kildeere seized him next, and Hylbred fastened on his shoulder and bit through his skin. Other hounds came from across the hills and held him as the rest reached him. No part of his body remained free from wounds. He could do nothing but sigh in the shape of a stag as his own hounds tore him apart and devoured him.

Diana Transforms Actaeon, a MythSource painting of the scene

3 sources· checked 2026-08-24

  1. 1Greek Myths & TalesT1
  2. 2Ovid, MetamorphosesT1

    Quote

    “After Actaeon saw Diana bathing, she changed him into a stag, took away his speech, and left him to be killed by his own hounds.”

    Ovid, Metamorphoses

  3. 3Greek Mythology and PoeticsT1

The Birth of Diana on Delos

Juno pursued Latona across the earth after Latona conceived twins by Jupiter. She sent the serpent Python after her and forbade every place touched by the sun to receive her. Latona crossed the land in search of shelter, but no resting place accepted her. The South Wind then carried her towards Ortygia, near the island of Delos.

Delos still floated upon the sea when it received Latona. She went to the northern side of Mount Cynthus and stood between an olive tree and a date palm. There she gave birth to Diana. The newborn goddess then helped her mother cross the narrow straits to Delos. Latona remained there and endured nine days of labour. At the end of that time, she gave birth to Apollo.

When Apollo was born, Delos became fixed in the sea. It no longer drifted upon the waves. Ambrosial fragrance spread across the island. The earth rejoiced, and the depths of the sea rejoiced with it. Diana and Apollo then stayed close to their mother. They protected her after she escaped Juno's pursuit and gave birth to both children on the island. Latona remained with her two children on Delos, where the island held firm beneath them.

Also told of Artemis in the Greek tradition.

The Birth of Diana on Delos, a MythSource painting of the scene

3 sources· checked 2026-08-24

  1. 1Shakespeare's Ovid, being Arthur Golding's translation of the MetamorphosesT1
  2. 2Apollodorus, The LibraryT1

    Quote

    “Driven by Juno, Latona gave birth to Diana on Delos, endured nine days before Apollo was born, and saw the island become fixed in the sea.”

    Apollodorus, The Library

  3. 3The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)T1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Diana, each on that figure’s page.

Continue the road

More of Diana’s family, sourced

ApolloSibling