Name origin: Ancient Greek goddess of the underworld. Persephone as a vegetation goddess and her mother Demeter were the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries, which promised the initiated a happy afterlife.
Name origin: Greek sea-monster, daughter of Pontos and Gaia. Kharybdis presided over a whirlpool guarding the Strait of Messina and was likely the cause of the tides with her thrice-daily intake and expulsion of large amounts of water.
Siegen is a university city in the Arnsberg region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies in the basin of the river Sieg, and is surrounded by mountains, which where uninhabited are covered in coppice. Siegen lies on the German-Dutch holiday road called the Orange Route, joining towns, cities and regions associated with the House of Orange.
Name origin: Unknown. There is a 19th century comic opera, Haydée, featuring the titular character as a slave girl who is really a princess and ultimately marries her beloved. A Haidee was also associated with the fictional libertine Don Juan, and a Haydée appears in The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas père.
Name origin: Karl May (1842-1912), a German author best known for his novels of travels and adventures, set in the American Old West, the Middle East, and other locations. He also wrote poetry, a play, and music. He was a proficient player of several musical instruments. Many of his works were adapted for film, theatre, audio dramas and comics.
St. Hubertus or Hubert (c.656-727), a kind of pre-Francis who established ethical rules on hunting, and cared about the welfare of animals. Hubert is venerated every year by the hunts in formal ceremonies. He is patron of archers; dogs; forest workers; trappers; hunting and huntsmen; mathematicians; metal workers; smelters and the city of Liège.
‘Possibly’ named for the Irish princess Iseult in Celtic myth, though some other characters bear that name. Iseult is to marry Tristan’s uncle, King Mark of Cornwall, and on the voyage there Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a love potion meant for the engaged couple, and fall hopelessly in love.
Name origin: Thessalian princess in Greek myth, loved by the god Apollo. During her pregnancy, Koronis had an affair with a man named Iskhys; a raven informed Apollo of this, and either he or his sister Artemis killed her as a consequence. Later he felt remorse, and in anger against the raven turned its white feathers black.
Name origin: Greek princess, daughter of Leda and Tyndareus, half-sister of Helen. Helen married Menelaos of Sparta, and Klytaemnestra married his brother Agamemnon; both became involved in the ten-year Trojan War. After Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia on the orders of a priest, Klytaemnestra vowed revenge and took his cousin Aegisthus as a lover. When he returned, the pair murdered him and his slave Kassandra. Eventually they were both killed in retaliation by Klytaemnestra’s son Orestes.
Named after the Sibyls, oracles in ancient Greece. Originally there may have been just one Sibyl at a time, but the number eventually increased to nine or ten. Bases included Delphi, Samos, Delos and Clarus. The etymology of the term’s source is unknown.
