Named for Brünn, now Brno, Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and is currently the second-largest city in the Czech Republic after Prague.
Sapientia is Latin for “wisdom”. The corresponding Ancient Greek term (Sophia) variously translates to “clever, skillful, intelligent, wise”; it also implies “skill in handicraft and art” in Homeric usage, which has been applied to both Hephaistos and Athene.
Name origin: Pacific Ocean, the largest on the planet, which covers approximately 46% of Earth’s water surface and about 32% of its total surface, more than its entire land area. Mean depth is 4km; the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench reaches 10.9km. The ocean straddles the International Date Line.
Name origin: Cleopatra, queen of Egypt from about 50 BCE to her death in 30 BCE. Realising she needed Rome’s help to sustain her nation, she became the lover of Julius Caesar and, later, the wife of Mark Antony. However, during the war between Antony and Octavian (Augustus), Antony was defeated and Cleopatra’s kingdom was finally annexed by Rome.
Roman lunar goddess. Initially revered as a huntress and patron of hunters, Diana later became associated with farms and the cultivated countryside, or where civilisation meets the wilderness. Like Hekate, she had dominion over roadways, particularly three-way crossroads, thereby giving her an underworld aspect. She also oversaw fertility, childbirth, the moon and celestial realms.
Circe was a Greek goddess of sorcery, skilled in various magics, potions and herbs. She lived on the island of Aiaia with her nymph companions, and is best known for her appearance in the Odyssey.
Name origin: Greek sea goddess and wife of Poseidon. He courted her in the form of a dolphin (or, in some tellings, sent a dolphin as messenger).
Name origin: Roman goddess and queen of the underworld. Equivalent of the Greek Persephone, with virtually identical mythology. She was combined with, or replaced, the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera.
Name origin: Greek goddess of health and healing, daughter and assistant of Asklepios.
