Belphoebe (or Belphebe, Belphœbe) is a character in Edmund Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene (1590), a representation of Queen Elizabeth I (conceived of, however, as a pure, high-spirited maiden, rather than a queen). [1] Spenser intended her name to mean "beautiful Diana" ( Phoebe being an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, who was known to the Romans as Diana), and it is suggested that she is a member of Poseidon's family. A virgin huntress, Belphoebe can certainly fight, as a potential rapist found out. She is the stronger, militant sister of Amoret.
Belphoebe is mentioned in Kipling's poem "The Queen's Men", [2] which is based on Spenser's work and which constitutes a lament for two young sea-captains who perished on a mission to which she sent them:
[They] passed into eclipse,
Her kiss upon their lips —
Even Belphoebe's, whom they gave their lives for!
Belphoebe is also mentioned in Sir Walter Raleigh's poem "If Cynthia be a Queen", [3]
References
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain:
Wood, James, ed. (1907). "
Belphoebe".
The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne.
- ^ "The Queen's Men (The Two Cousins)". www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de. Archived from the original on 2011-03-19.
- ^ "Continuation of the lost poem, Cynthia; now first published from the Hatfield MSS.; 1604-1618? XX. Sir Walter Raleigh. 1892. Poems". 27 September 2022.
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