Diana
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legendary warrior maiden Camilla |
The Roman goddess Diana was not only the chaste goddess of the hunt, but she was also the nurturer of
children and feminine values, and protector of the weak and vulnerable.
Diana did not have particularly satisfying relationships with men;
she frequently sought companionship from women friends, and was portrayed by
artists as bathing alone or in the company of nymphs. She was worshipped especially
by women, no man was allowed to enter her temple.
Camilla
In Roman mythology Camilla, the Amazon-like virgin warrior was raised in the wilderness by her father Metabus, king of the Volscians in Italy. Her exploits appear at the end of Virgil's 'Aeneid'. When Camilla was a baby her father, fleeing with her from enemies, came to a flooded river. He tied Camilla to his spear and threw it and baby to the opposite bank, vowing that if the infant survived he would dedicate her to the service of the goddess Diana. Many mothers sought Camilla for a daughter-in-law, but she continued faithful to Diana and repelled the thought of marriage.
Diane-Camilla-Connection
Camilla was a favorite of the goddess Diana. Grown up, Camilla deserts the safe forest groves of her divine protector and becomes the bulwark of the Latins' defense against the Trojans. When she is mortally wounded, her patron Diana avenges her:
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"The goddess Diana, as she sat in heaven, said to Opis, who was chief of the nymphs who waited on her: "Opis, Camilla goes to fight in this war. Would that she had not thought of it! There is not a girl in Italy that I love more, and have loved ever since she was a child. But her fate is on her, and she must die. Now I give you this charge. Go down to the Latin land, where they are beginning just now this evil war; take with you your bow and your arrows, and see that any man who harms her shall himself be slain. And when she is dead no man shall spoil her of her arms; but I will carry back her body to her native land." (The Aeneid for Boys and Girls) |
The parallels to the Betty-Rita storyline are obvious.
Diana’s Greek equivalent is the Goddess Artemis who was always portrayed running with wolves. The labrys has been a symbol of lesbianism since the early 1970s. It's a double-headed ax said to have been used by amazons and also associated with Artemis, the androgynous huntress.
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Greek Mythology reference: |