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: 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.”
Leukothea was born a mortal princess named Ino. Along with Athamas, her husband, she incurred the wrath of Hera for fostering the infant Dionysos. As punishment, Hera drove Athamas into a murderous rage, in which he killed his eldest child. Ino took the other, and leapt off a cliff into the sea. Both became sea gods.
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 of war; the name was chosen to mark the beginning of the Crimean War. Bellona is known for her temple outside of Rome being the official decision making centre in regards to war.
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.
Phocaea or Phokaia (modern-day Foça in Turkey) was a city on the western coast of Anatolia. Greek colonists from Phocaea founded the city of Massalia (Marseille), from where the asteroid was discovered.
