Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), a German polymath whose work pioneered or foreshadowed biogeography, modern geomagnetic and meteorological monitoring, ecology and holistic views of the universe. He also helped establish geography as an independent scientific discipline.
Greek nymph and minor goddess. Kalypso is most famed for detaining Odysseus on her island for seven years, before the gods intervened to get him released. She then aids him to leave.
Aglaia was one of the three Kharites (Graces), along with Thalia and Euphrosyne, and the goddess of beauty, splendour, glory and adornment. She was the wife of the god Hephaistos.
Name origin: Greek goddess of the hearth (both private and municipal) and the home. Hestia presides over the cooking of bread and the preparation of the family meal. She was also the goddess of the sacrificial flame and received a share of every sacrifice to the gods.
Name origin: Greek Naiad who was transformed into a laurel tree. Daphne was loved by the god Apollo, who pursued her until she grew exhausted and cried out to Gaia for help. The goddess transformed her into a laurel tree which Apollo then adopted as his sacred plant.
Harmonia was a daughter of Ares and Aphrodite and as such ruled both marital and martial harmony. Later classical writers sometimes gave her a more abstract representation, as a deity who presided over cosmic balance. She was considered the opposite of Eris.
Laetitia’s name derives from the root word laeta, meaning “happy”, “glad”, “lucky”, “successful”, “prosperous”, “luxurious”, “lush”, or “abounding”, referring to happiness with prosperity and abundance. Laetitia would be portrayed wearing a garland, as wreaths were generally worn at ceremonial events and festivals, to depict celebration and seasonal rites.
Name origin: Aetolian princess who became a Spartan queen; mother of the Dioscuri, Clytaemnestra and Helen, after Zeus seduced her in the guise of a swan.
Name origin: Roman goddess of trust and good faith (bona fides). One of the original virtues to be considered an actual religious divinity. She is everything that is required for “honour and credibility, from fidelity in marriage, to contractual arrangements, and the obligation soldiers owed to Rome.”
Atalante was left to die at birth but rescued by a bear and later raised by hunters. Eventually she was reunited with her father, who insisted that she marry; she insisted she would only marry the man defeating her in a footrace, while those who lost were killed. Hippomenes won the race against her with the help of three sacred apples he received from Aphrodite.
