# Belphoebe

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{{Short description|Fictional character in The Faerie Queene}}
thumb|A drawing of Belphoebe by Walter Crane
'''Belphoebe''' (or ''Belphebe'', ''Belphœbe'') is a character in [Edmund Spenser](/source/Edmund_Spenser)'s poem ''[The Faerie Queene](/source/The_Faerie_Queene)'' (1590), a [representation](/source/Allegory) of [Queen Elizabeth I](/source/Elizabeth_I_of_England) (conceived of, however, as a pure, high-spirited maiden, rather than a queen).<ref>{{Nuttall|inline=1|title=Belphoebe}}</ref> Spenser intended her name to mean "beautiful [Diana](/source/Diana_(mythology))" ([Phoebe](/source/Phoebe_(given_name)) being an [epithet](/source/epithet) of the [Greek](/source/Greek_mythology) moon goddess [Artemis](/source/Artemis), who was known to the [Roman](/source/Roman_mythology)s as Diana), and it is suggested that she is a member of [Poseidon](/source/Poseidon)'s family. A virgin [huntress](/source/hunting), Belphoebe can certainly fight, as a potential rapist found out. She is the stronger, [militant](/source/Women_warriors_in_literature_and_culture) sister of Amoret.

Belphoebe is mentioned in [Kipling](/source/Rudyard_Kipling)'s poem "The Queen's Men",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~zierke/peter.bellamy/songs/thequeensmen.html |title=The Queen's Men (The Two Cousins) |website=www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319050059/http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~zierke/peter.bellamy/songs/thequeensmen.html |archive-date=2011-03-19}} </ref> 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:
{{blockquote
| text = <poem>[They] passed into eclipse,
Her kiss upon their lips —
Even Belphoebe's, whom they gave their lives for!</poem>
}}

Belphoebe is also mentioned in [Sir Walter Raleigh](/source/Walter_Raleigh)'s poem "If Cynthia be a Queen".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bartleby.com/257/20.html|title=Continuation of the lost poem, Cynthia; now first published from the Hatfield MSS.; 1604-1618? XX. Sir Walter Raleigh. 1892. Poems|date=27 September 2022 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{The Faerie Queene}}

Category:Characters in The Faerie Queene
Category:Fairy royalty
Category:Female characters in literature
Category:Fictional androgynes
Category:Fictional fairies
Category:Fictional female warriors
Category:Fictional hunters
Category:Literary characters introduced in 1590

{{lit-char-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Belphoebe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belphoebe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belphoebe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.