Charles Ellicott Commentary Revelation 17:18

"And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." — Revelation 17:18 (ASV)

And the woman which thou sawest . . .—Read, And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth. With these words the angel’s explanation of “the mystery of the woman” ends. The harlot is a city; the Babylon of the past lives again in Rome; the woman is Rome, “the goddess of lands and peoples.”

“She who was named Eternal, and arrayed
Her warriors but to conquer—she Who veiled
Earth with her haughty shadow and displayed
Until the o’er canopied horizon failed
Her rushing wings—Oh! she who was Almighty hailed.”