Also known as Pallas Athene, Athena, the Greek personification of wisdom, is goddess of strategic warfare and arts and crafts such as spinning and weaving. She was born of Zeus and Metis after Zeus swallowed Metis, fearing she would have a son stronger than himself. The god Hephaestus struck Zeus on the forehead with an axe, and Athena sprang from the opening fully armed. Athena is often equated with the Roman goddess Minerva.

Goddess of error, delusion, and rash action.

Personification of virtue who, when the Golden Age ended and the earth became dominated by iniquity, ascended to the heavens and became the constellation Virgo.

Mistress of Pericles often attacked in Athenian dramatic works for her supposed undue political influence.

Irish philosopher and mathematician who held the positions of 15th Provost of Trinity College, Dublin; Church of Ireland Bishop of Cloyne, Clogher and Derry; and Donegall Lecturer in Mathematics at Trinity College, Dublin. In his career, Ashe taught such notable students as Jonathan Swift and William Congreve.

English humanist, scholar, and didactic writer who is best remembered for his prose style, theories on education, and promotion of the vernacular. Ascham served in the administrations of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I after serving as Elizabeth's tutor in Greek and Latin from 1548 to 1550.

Fourth Earl of Richmond and Duke of Brittany, Prince Arthur had been designated heir to the throne over his uncle, John, King of England, 1167-1216.

A legendary king of England, the subject of a number of verse narratives.

An American-born military leader during the American Revolutionary War, Benedict Arnold originally served the American Continental Army, rising to the rank of major general and gaining the trust of George Washington before defecting to the British in 1780. After rising to the rank of brigadier general in the British military, Arnold marched British forces against the American army he had once served. His name has become synonymous with betrayal and treason in American popular culture.

Poet, physician, essayist. Most famous for his didactic poem The Art of Preserving Health (1744).