Phoebe, also known as Phoibe

APOLLODORUS, LIBRARY, Book 1, translated by J. G. FRAZER

[1.1.3] And again he begat children by Earth, to wit, the Titans as they are named: Ocean, Coeus, Hyperion, Crius, Iapetus, and, youngest of all, Cronus; also daughters, the Titanides as they are called: Tethys, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Dione, Thia.

[1.2.2] Now to the Titans were born offspring: to Ocean and Tethys were born Oceanids, to wit, Asia, Styx, Electra, Doris, Eurynome, Amphitrite, and Metis; to Coeus and Phoebe were born Asteria and Latona; to Hyperion and Thia were born Dawn, Sun, and Moon; to Crius and Eurybia, daughter of Sea (Pontus), were born Astraeus, Pallas, and Perses;

[1.3.1] Now Zeus wedded Hera and begat Hebe, Ilithyia, and Ares, but he had intercourse with many women, both mortals and immortals.

CLEMENT, RECOGNITIONS, Book 10, translated by REV. THOMAS SMITH

Chapter [17] - GENTILE COSMOGONY - From the heaven they say that six males were produced, whom they call Titans; and in like manner, from the earth six females, whom they called Titanides. And these are the names of the males who sprang from the heaven: Oceanus, Coeus, Crios, Hyperion, Iapetus, Chronos, who amongst us is called Saturn. In like manner, the names of the females who sprang from the earth are these: Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Tethys, Hebe [Phoebe].

HESIOD, THEOGONY, translated by H. G. EVELYN-WHITE

[8] Thence they arise and go abroad by night, veiled in thick mist, and utter their song with lovely voice, praising Zeus the aegis-holder and queenly Hera of Argos who walks on golden sandals and the daughter of Zeus the aegis-holder bright-eyed Athene, and Phoebus Apollo, and Artemis who delights in arrows, and Poseidon the earth-holder who shakes the earth, and reverend Themis and quick-glancing Aphrodite, and Hebe with the crown of gold, and fair Dione, Leto, Iapetus, and Cronos the crafty counsellor, Eos and great Helius and bright Selene, Earth too, and great Oceanus, and dark Night, and the holy race of all the other deathless ones that are for ever.

[134] But afterwards she lay with Heaven and bare deep-swirling Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis and Mnemosyne and gold-crowned Phoebe and lovely Tethys. After them was born Cronos the wily, youngest and most terrible of her children, and he hated his lusty sire.

[404] Again, Phoebe came to the desired embrace of Coeus. Then the goddess through the love of the god conceived and brought forth dark-gowned Leto, always mild, kind to men and to the deathless gods, mild from the beginning, gentlest in all Olympus. Also she bare Asteria of happy name, whom Perses once led to his great house to be called his dear wife.

[921] Lastly, he[Zeus] made Hera his blooming wife: and she was joined in love with the king of gods and men, and brought forth Hebe and Ares and Eileithyia.

HYGINUS, FABULAE, translated by MARY GRANT

From Polus and Phoebe, Latone, Asterie, *aphirape . . . Perses, Pallas.

OVID, FASTI, Book 2, translated by J. G. FRAZER

[155] Among the Hamadryads in the train of the archeress Diana one of the sacred band was called Callisto. Laying her hand on the bow of the goddess, “Thou bow,” quoth she, “which thus I touch, bear witness to my virginity.” Cynthia approved the vow, and said, “Keep but thy plighted troth and thou shalt be the foremost of my company.” Her troth she would have kept if she had not been fair. With mortals she was on her guard; it was with Jove she sinned. Of wild beasts in the forest Phoebe had chased full many a score, and home she was returning at noon or after noon. No sooner had she reached the grove – the grove where the thick holm-oaks cast a gloom and in the midst a deep fountain of cool water rose – than the goddess spake: “Here in the wood,” quoth she, “let’s bathe, thou maid of Arcady.”

OVID, METAMORPHOSES, Book 8, translated by BROOKES MORE

[11] Six times the horns of rising Phoebe grew, and still the changing fortune of the war was in suspense; so, Victory day by day between them hovered on uncertain wings. Within that city was a regal tower on tuneful walls; where once Apollo laid his golden harp; and in the throbbing stone the sounds remained.

STATIUS, THEBAID, Book 7, translated by J. H. MOZLEY

[470] Already had breaking day put out cold Phoebe and the fading stars, while Ocean was pregnant with dawning fire, and the sea’s expanse, revealed by new-born Titan, was sinking to rest beneath his radiant panting steeds: lo! Jocasta, wild-eyed, with hoary unkempt hair falling about her haggard face, her bosom bruised and livid and in her hand a branch of olive entwined with sable wool, goes forth from the gates in all the mighty majesty of sorrow, like to the most ancient of the Furies.

VALLERIUS FLACCUS, ARGONAUTICA, Book 7, translated by J. H. MOZLEY

[362] Hecate first, plying a blade that Stygian springs had hardened, tore forth the strong stalk from the rocks; then showed she the plant to her handmaid, who beneath the tenth shining of Phoebe’s light reaps the harvest of the mountain-side and rages madly among all the gory relics of the god

VIRGIL, GEORGICS, Book 1, translated by H. R. FAIRCLOUGH

[424] But if you pay heed to the swift sun and the moons, as they follow in order, never will tomorrow’s hour cheat you, nor will you be ensnared by a cloudless night. Soon as the moon gathers her returning fires, if she encloses a dark mist within dim horns, a heavy rain is awaiting farmers and seamen. But if over her face she spreads a maiden blush, there will be wind; as wind rises, golden Phoebe ever blushes. But if at her fourth rising – for that is our surest guide – she pass through the sky clear and with undimmed horns, then all that day, and the days born of it to the month’s end, shall be free from rain and wind; and the sailors, safe in port, shall pay their vows on the shore to Glaucus, and to Panopea, and to Melicerta, Ino’s son.

REFERENCE, ROMAN RELIGION AND THE CULT OF DIANA AT ARICIA, by C. M. C. GREEN

Since then, scholars have returned to the view that Diana‘s name had Indo-European roots and arose from the Italic culture of central Italy. Wissowa (1911, 147, n. 2) accepted the long first syllable of Diana‘s name but rightly thought it could not really determine her identity. Gordon (1934, 10), Bayet (1957. 20), Latte (I960. 169). Pariault:(1969, 434). Schilling (1969, 373). and Scheid (I996, 1997) have all accepted the conclusion that the name has its roots in d? with a meaning of light or “shining. This root d? is found In dius (daylit, “shining, “godlike '), divus (a god) related to deus (“a god), and possibly to dies (day) although that ? is short. Dumezil (1966, 407), although agreeing about the derivation, holds most strongly to the view that it is “open sky (as in the Latin phrase, sub divo, under the open sky; (OLD s.v. diuum) rather than the light of the moon that Is reflected in her name.

Birt (I890, I003), however, had long before confused the issue further and in the process made apparent the real weakness inherent in the use of linguistic evidence. He objected that because other goddesses were associated with the moon, Diana’s name could not bear the meaning of “light or shining“, and therefore (despite the testmony of Greek and Latin writers) she could not be a moon goddess. He was quite correct with other deities (not just goddesses) were in fact associated with are moon. Juno, for instance, has been identified as a moon goddess. In Rome the Kalends or every month, the days on which the new moon was sighted, were sacred to her. She was also known (on are Nones) as Juno Covella (Varro LL 6.27, “Juno of the crescent moon). Her epithet was Lucina (Varro LL 5.69; Cic. ND 2.63), which she shared with Diana; and under that epithet, she, like Dlana, was called on by women in childbirth.

In addition of Juno there was also Luna, “Moon by name, who may or may not have been a separate deity. She had a temple in Rome just below the temple of Diana on the Aventine, and another as Noctiluna (“Night-Shiner) on the Palatine (Varro LL 5.68). Varro (LL 5.74.) and Dionysius of Halicarnassus (2.5o.3) both say that Titus Tatius brought the Sabine cults of Luna and Sol to Rome. Birt was quite wrong, however, to conclude from all this that Diana therefore could not be a moon goddess. His argument relies on an unstated assumption that a special function or field of responsibility could belong to one god only: If Juno was goddess of the moon, or Luna, then Diana could not he. Yet polytheism has no such artificial boundaries and in itself encourages multiple divinities with overlaping responsibilities. The Ides of every month, the day on which the full moon (officially. according to the old lunar calendar) appeared, sacred to Jupiter (Macrob. Sat. 1.15.14), quintessentially the deity of the day as Dies Pater (Varro LL. 5.66). Jupiter was not as far as we know the deity of the moon or of the night, but that did not prevent him from having authority over the official calendar day of the full moon.

Multiplicity of deities and functions seemed quite natural to Roman writers, and they made little effort to systematize. In the same passage in which Varro says the Sabines brought Luna to Rome, he says they also brought Lucina and Diana - but not Juno (LL 5.74). And he also says that some call Luna Diana, in the same way they call Sun Apollo (LL 5.68). Luna`s independent existence, therefore, can be doubted, as can Lucina`s. It may well be that these are indeed epithets that were used independently when a very specific function was the purpose of prayer or supplication: Lucina when help in childbirth was needed; Luna when the moon specifically was worshiped. Certainly Luna`s name may be no more than factual referent for the divinity, as Sol, Sun, is for Apollo. If she is separate goddess, however, she and Diana coexisted with Juno as moon deities.