“ DIANA, in Roman mythology, an old Italian goddess, in later times identified with the Greek Artemis (q.v.) . That she was originally an independent Italian deity is shown by her name, which is the feminine form of Janus (= Dianus) . She is essentially the goddess of the moon and light generally, and presides over wood, plain and water, the chase and war. As the goddess of childbirth, she was known, like Juno, by the name of Lucina, the “bringer to light.” As the moon-goddess she was also identified with Hecate, and invoked as “three-formed” in reference to the phases of the moon. ”

“ In accordance with this, her most important temple was that on the Aventine, the chief seat of the plebeians, founded by Servius Tullius, originally as a sanctuary of the Latin league (Dion. Halic. iv. 26) . ”