Diana vs Jupiter

Diana

Roman Pantheon

Goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, and the moon. Protector of women in childbirth. Twin sister of Apollo. Roman equivalent of Artemis.

Diana is huntress, moon, and protector of women in childbirth, and her oldest Latin home is not Olympus but the grove at **Aricia** by Lake Nemi. There she was **Diana Nemorensis**, and her priest, the rex Nemorensis, won the office by killing his predecessor. That grim local rule is Italian, not a footnote to Artemis.

Jupiter

Roman Pantheon

King of the gods and god of sky, lightning, and thunder. Supreme deity of the Roman state religion, protector of Rome and source of divine authority for Roman emperors.

Jupiter corresponds to the Greek Zeus, born to Saturn (Cronus) and Ops (Rhea). He overthrew his father to become king of the gods, establishing divine order and justice.

Jupiter is the chief god of the Roman state, not a renamed Zeus wearing a toga. His oldest title, **Optimus Maximus**, "best and greatest," belongs to the temple on the Capitoline that he shared with Juno and Minerva. Roman magistrates took office under his gaze. Treaties were struck in his name. When lightning struck, the *pontifices* read it as his speech.