Meaning & History
Latinized form of Δίκτυννα (Diktynna) which was associated with Greek δίκτυα (diktya) "hunting nets". This was an epithet of the Cretan goddess Britomartis, allegedly given for the fishermen's nets into which she leaped from Mount Dikte on Crete. According to legend she was originally a mortal woman beloved by King Minos; fleeing his attentions, she leaped into the sea and was transformed into the goddess in the moment of her death.