Britomartis

Britomartis (/brɪtoʊˈmɑːrtɪs/;^[1]Greek: Βριτόμαρτις) was a Greek goddess of mountains and hunting, who was primarily worshipped on the island of Crete. She was sometimes believed to be an oread, a mountain nymph, but she was often conflated or syncretized with Artemis and Aphaea, the "invisible" patroness of Aegina.^[2] She is also known as Dictynna or as a daughter of Dictynna (Δίκτυννα).^{[citation needed]}

In the 16th century, the naming of a character identified with English military prowess as "Britomart" in Edmund Spenser's knightly epic The Faerie Queene led to a number of appearances by "Britomart" figures in British art and literature.

^ Avery, Catherine B. (1962). New Century Classical Handbook. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. p. 227.
^ K. Pilafidis-Williams, The Sanctuary of Aphaia on Aigina in the Bronze Age (Munich: Hirmer) 1998, describes the distinctive local cult but is cautious in retrojecting the later cult of Aphaia to describe Britomartis at Aigina; the explicit identification of Britomartis and Aphaea is in Pausanias, 2.30.3, and in Diodorus Siculus, v.76.3.

[1] Avery, Catherine B. (1962). New Century Classical Handbook. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. p. 227.

[2] K. Pilafidis-Williams, The Sanctuary of Aphaia on Aigina in the Bronze Age (Munich: Hirmer) 1998, describes the distinctive local cult but is cautious in retrojecting the later cult of Aphaia to describe Britomartis at Aigina; the explicit identification of Britomartis and Aphaea is in Pausanias, 2.30.3, and in Diodorus Siculus, v.76.3.

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