In class a few years ago, I did a writing assignment with “My Name” by Sandra Cisneros. Students wrote their own vignette about the history of their name, which meant I had to as well. I believe in writing with my students whenever possible, as it creates a valuable teaching tool. As a writer, it was a really fun and creative exercise.
“Diana, Divine”
When my mother hears my name, she says she sees a brook winding its way through a glen in the woods. Young trees, not wizened nor dark, stretch towards a blue sky in a serene glen glowing green. A doe delicately picks her way to the stream, while the words of the woods whisper above water trickling over rocks.
After all, Diana was the goddess of the woods, my mother explains.
And the hunt, and the moon, and childbirth, I remind her.
Yeah, so the woods, my mother confidently replies, forgetting when the elementary school librarian called her: I wanted to sign out a huge and ancient tome of Roman mythology, complete with graphic artwork. I was in third grade.
As a goddess, Diana was pretty important. Twin of the sun god Apollo, daughter of king-god Zeus. She’s considered one of the more complex Roman deities. Embodying purity, intelligence, and strength, she was the protector of many women and animals. But she had a temper, as her personality was wild, changeable, and unpredictable like the moon.
Once upon a time, the moon goddess was bathing in a river. Acteon, a hunter, stumbled upon her and saw her vulnerable and defenseless. Except, of course, she wasn’t. As punishment for his crime, she transformed him into a stag and set his own hunting dogs after him. A happy ending for Diana. Not so much for Acteon.
I’m pretty sure my mother is oblivious to that particular tale.
Diana is one of, if not the only, Roman deity name used today. After all, I’ve never met a Vesta or Ceres, two of the six major goddesses (Diana included) who sat on the Council of Twelve. Yet my name has persisted for thousands of years, and I can’t help but wonder why.
It could be the way it sounds. Diana is like a plush carpet unrolling, the vowels melting into one another. The hard kick of a firework followed by the gentle patter of falling sparks.
It could be what it means. Divine, which is officially explained as “of, from, or like a god.” It’s a lot to live up to. Whether you’re considering a Roman goddess who protected women giving birth or the God worshipped by Christians (or any other religious deities, for that matter), it sets the bar pretty high for the name-bearer.
It could be who else carried this name. Besides a goddess, there was an author, a singer, a superhero, and most famously, a princess. All strong, incredibly successful women. If your name is the second gift your parents bestow upon you, then I think my parents were generous. What parent wouldn’t want their daughter to embody -or at least try- all that Diana holds?
Diana, divine.
A harmonious convergence of sound and meaning.It is a name shaped of diamonds. But I am human, and trying to understand divinity is like trying to look at the sun with naked eyes.
Diana, divine.
A name for a hunter and healer, the wise and the rash, and I am none of those. Not a diamond, nor a symphony. Instead, I am sapphire blue veined with amethyst and Valentine’s heart pink. I am a single sweet melody sung by a piano.
The bar has been set. All that is left is to try to be Diana, divine.
