Belphoebe (or ''Belphebe'', ''Belphœbe'') is a character in Edmund Spenser's poem '' The Faerie Queene'' (1590), a representation of Queen Elizabeth I (conceived of, however, as a pure, high-spirited maiden, rather than a queen). Spenser intended her name to mean "beautiful Diana" ( Phoebe being an epithet of the Greek moon goddess

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified with Sel ...

, who was known to the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

s as Diana), and it is suggested that she is a member of Poseidon's family. A virgin huntress, Belphoebe can certainly fight, as a potential rapist found out. She is the stronger,

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin ...

sister of Amoret. Belphoebe is mentioned in

Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much o ...

's poem "The Queen's Men", which is based on Spenser's work and which constitutes a lament for two young sea-captains who perished on a mission to which she sent them: Belphoebe is also mentioned in Sir Walter Raleigh's poem "If Cynthia be a Queen",

References

The Faerie Queene Characters in epic poems Fictional fairies and sprites Fictional women soldiers and warriors Fairy royalty Fictional androgynes Fictional hunters Literary characters Literary characters introduced in 1590 {{lit-char-stub