Name origin: The large forests that the discoverer loved to explore throughout his life; initially as a young boy in Massachusetts; then (once in Germany) around Heidelberg, as well as the Black Forest and the Odenwald. The name is Latin for ‘forest lands’.
Focus On: (519) Sylvania Read Post »
Veritas is the name given to the Roman virtue of truthfulness, considered one of the main qualities any good Roman should possess, and the Goddess of Truth, daughter of Saturn. The Greek equivalent is Aletheia.
Focus On: (490) Veritas Read Post »
“Delia” is an epithet for the ancient Greco-Roman Moon goddess Artemis, after her birthplace (and Apollo’s) at Delos.
Focus On: (395) Delia Read Post »
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.
Focus On: (388) Charybdis Read Post »
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.
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Name origin: Campania, a region of south-west Italy. Occupied by several Italic tribes since the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE. The Etruscans and Greeks established colonies in the Campanian Plains and in Naples respectively, before it became part of the Roman republic by the end of the 4th century BCE.
Focus On: (377) Campania Read Post »
Name origin: Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary (1777-1860), Queen of Sweden and Norway from 1818 to 1844 as the wife of King Charles XIV John. Her name was officially changed to Desideria in Sweden, and she initially travelled there as crown princess. Unhappy in her new home and finding the change of etiquette difficult, she returned to Paris ostensibly for health reasons and lived incognito.
Focus On: (344) Desiderata Read Post »
Name origin: Roman goddess of justice. Justice was one of the virtues celebrated by Roman emperor Augustus, and a temple of Iustitia was established in Rome by his successor Tiberius.
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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.
Focus On: (260) Huberta Read Post »
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.
Focus On: (216) Kleopatra Read Post »
