Belphoebe

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Belphoebe (also Belphebe or Belphœbe) is a character in Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590). She represents Queen Elizabeth I as a pure, high-spirited young woman rather than as a queen. Spenser meant her name to mean “beautiful Diana” (Phoebe is linked to the moon goddess Artemis, called Diana by the Romans). Some scholars link her to sea gods, suggesting a Poseidon connection. Belphoebe is a virgin huntress who can fight; she is the stronger, militant sister of Amoret. She is mentioned in Rudyard Kipling's poem The Queen's Men, which is based on Spenser and laments two young sea-captains who died on a mission she sent them on: They passed into eclipse, Her kiss upon their lips — Even Belphoebe's, whom they gave their lives for! She is also referenced in Sir Walter Raleigh's If Cynthia be a Queen.