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.
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.
Name origin: Greek; food of the gods. The word ambrosia means immortality, and is often said to have either that effect or longevity on whoever consumes it. The term may not originally have been distinguished from nectar, the other food of the gods.
Name origin: Greek Oreiad nymph. Rhodope was a queen of Thrace and the wife of Haemus. The pair grew hubristic, comparing themselves to Zeus and Hera, and were both turned into mountains as punishment. The Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria and Greece are named after her.
Name origin: Trojan prophet in Greek myth. Apollo tried to seduce Kassandra with the gift of prophecy; when he failed (or in some versions she accepted and then changed her mind), unable to rescind her ability, he added the curse that she would never be believed.
Rhea Silvia was forced to become a Vestal Virgin by her uncle Amulius to prevent her conceiving, but Mars had other ideas. Their sons were sent to die but rescued and suckled by a she-wolf, and eventually grew up to overthrow Amulius and reinstate their grandfather Numitor as king, before moving on to found Rome.
Name origin: Greek – either a Nereid, or a mortal formed from a statue. Galateia was one of the fifty Nereides and the goddess of calm seas, wooed by Polyphemos with music, milk and cheese.
Name origin: Greek goddess of motherhood. Leto was one of the Titanides, a bride of Zeus, and the mother of the twins Artemis and Apollo. Alongside her children, she was a protectress of the young. Her name and iconography suggest she also represented modesty and demure womanhood.
Name origin: Roman goddess/personification of peace and social harmony. Often associated with Pax (Peace) in assuring a stable society; probably a close match with the Greek concept of homonoia (likemindedness), which was also anthropomorphised.
Name origin: Greek Goddess of memory. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine children of the earth-goddess Gaia and the sky-god Uranus. She is also the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus.
