| Despoina | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sculpture of Demeter, and the veil of Despoina | |
| Abode | Arcadia |
| Symbols | Veil |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Poseidon andDemeter |
| Siblings | Arion (twin), several paternal and maternal half-siblings |
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Despoina orDespoena (/dɛsˈpiːnə/ ⓘ;[1]Greek:Δέσποινα,romanized: Déspoina) was the epithet of a goddess worshipped by theEleusinian Mysteries inAncient Greece as the daughter ofDemeter andPoseidon and the sister ofArion.[2] Surviving sources refer to her exclusively under the titleDespoina ("the Mistress," cognate of "Despot") alongside her motherDemeter, as her real name could not be revealed to anyone except those initiated into her mysteries and was consequently lost with the extinction of the Eleusinian religion.[3] Writing during the second century A.D.,Pausanias spoke of Demeter as having two daughters;Kore being born first, before Despoina was born, withZeus being the father of Kore and Poseidon as the father of Despoina. Pausanias made it clear that Kore isPersephone, although he did not reveal Despoina's proper name.
In the myth, Poseidon saw Demeter and desired her. To avoid him, she took her archaic form of amare, but he took the form of astallion and mated with her. From this union Demeter bore a daughter, Despoina, and a fabulous horse,Arion. Due to her anger at this turn of events, Demeter also was given the epithetErinys (raging).[4]
The first element of the nameDes-poina is derived from thePIE root*dem- meaning "house, household", Sanskritdámaḥ "house"; Avestandemana- "house"; Greekdomos "house"; Latindomus "house". Related wordsdespotēs "master, lord"; Latindominus "master of a household"; Armeniantanu-ter "house-lord".[5] The second element is derived from the hypotheticalPIE form*pot-niha-, "mistress", "lady", "wife", is the feminine counterpart to*pótis, "husband";cf.Latinhospēs, "host",Sanskritpáti-, "master", "husband", fem.pátnī-, "lady", "wife".[6] The Greek female equivalent fordespotēs wasdespoina "lady, queen, mistress," source of the fem. proper name Despina.[5] (Etymologically the "mistress of the house".)
Related attested forms, written in theLinear Bsyllabary, are theMycenaean Greek𐀡𐀴𐀛𐀊,po-ti-ni-ja, (potnia)[7] and perhaps𐀡𐀮𐀆𐀃,po-se-da-o, and𐀡𐀮𐀆𐀺𐀚,po-se-da-wo-ne (Poseidon),[8] which were inherited into classical Greece with identical or related meanings.[n 1] An alternative etymology of the goddessDemeter is derived from the hypotheticalPIE*dems-méh₂tēr, meaning "mother of the house".[9] InModern Greek the title "despoinis" (δεσποινίς) means "Miss", literally "little mistress", and can be used to address young ladies and waitresses, amongst others.
The cult of Despoina was significant in the history of ancient Greek mystery religions inLycosoura, which belonged to a stratum of an earlier religion in Arcadia.[10] Evidently, the religious beliefs of the first Greek-speaking people who entered the region were mixed with the beliefs of theindigenous population. The figure of a goddess of nature, birth, and death was dominant in bothMinoan andMycenean cults during the Bronze Age.[11]Wanax was her male companion (paredros) in the Mycenean cult, and usually, this title was applied to the godPoseidon as king of the sea.[12]
In the myth of the isolated land ofArcadia, Poseidon appears as a beastly horse which represents the river spirit of the underworld. This conception was usual in northernEuropean folklore and not unusual in Greece. The horse (numina) was related with the liquid element, and with the underworld.[13][14] The river godAcheloos is represented as a bull.[15] Poseidon mates with the mare,Demeter,[16] and from the union she bears the horse,Arion, and a daughter who originally had the shape of a mare too. It seems that the Greek deities started as powers of nature, and then they were given other attributes.[17] These powers of nature developed into a belief innymphs and in deities with human forms and the heads or tails of animals. Some of them, such asPan and theSilenoi, survived into the classical age. The two greatArcadian goddesses,Demeter and Despoina (later Persephone), were closely related to thesprings and the animals, and especially, to the goddessArtemis (Potnia Theron: "The mistress of the animals"), who was the first nymph.[18]
On a marble relief atLycosura is the veil of Despoina, on which human figures are represented with the heads of different animals, seemingly, in a ritual dance. Some of them hold flutes. These could be a procession of women with animal masks or of hybrid creatures.[19][20] Similar processions ofdaemons or human figures with animal masks appear onMycenean frescoes and gold rings.[21][22] Most of the temples were built near springs, and in some of them there is evidence of aneternal flame. At Lycosura, a fire burned in front of the temple of Pan, the goat god.[23] Themegaron of Eleusis is quite similar to the "megaron" of Despoina at Lycosura.[24]
Despoina was worshipped in asanctuary at Lycosura, west of the town ofMegalopolis.Poseidon was the father of Despoina and he was worshipped as PoseidonHippios (horse).[25] Although this cult remained regional rather than becoming panhellenic, this is a very important site for the study of ancientmystery religions. In Arcadia Poseidon was closely related to the pair of Arcadian great goddesses identified as Demeter and Kore.[25]
She was known by the additional epithet of Despoine among the general population, just as they surnamed Demeter's daughter byZeus as Kore (the maiden).[26][27]
Women who worshiped at the site had to adhere to a dress code that prohibited participants from wearing black or purple, possibly because those colours were worn by priestesses.[28]
In themysteries Demeter was a second goddess below her daughter, the unnameable "Despoina".[29] It seems that the myths in Arcadia were connected with the first Greek-speaking people who came from the north during theBronze Age. The two goddesses had close connections with the rivers and the springs. They were related toPoseidon, the god of the rivers and the springs, and especially toArtemis, who was the first nymph. Her epithet, "the mistress", has its analogue inMycenean Greek inscriptions found atPylos in southern Greece and atKnossos inCrete. Later, Despoina was conflated withKore (Persephone), the goddess of theEleusinian Mysteries, in a life-death-rebirth cycle.Karl Kerenyi asserted that the cult was a continuation of aMinoan goddess, and that her name recalls theMinoan-Mycenaean goddess𐀅𐁆𐀪𐀵𐀍𐄀𐀡𐀴𐀛𐀊,da-pu2-ri-to-jo,po-ti-ni-ja, i.e. the unnamable "Mistress of theLabyrinth" atKnossos.[30][31]
"Despoina" was an epithet for several goddesses, especiallyAphrodite,Persephone,Demeter, andHecate.[32][33] Persephone and Demeter are two of the three goddesses of theEleusinian Mysteries. They are perhaps the "TwoQueens" referred to in variousLinear B inscriptions.[34] AtOlympia they were calledDespoinai (Δέσποιναι).[35]
The epithet, Despoina, is possibly related to the Mycenean title, "potnia" (po-ti-ni-ja), that usually referred to goddesses. Some theories suggest that this could be the translation of a similar title ofPre-Greek origin, just as the title "Our lady" in Christianity is translated in several languages.[36] It is also theorised that the original title may have accompanied a potentialAegeanmother goddess.[37]
At the time of a visit to the sanctuary at Lycosura byPausanias in the second century A.D., the sculptures would have been 300 or more years old. In the second century A.D., a statue of the emperorHadrian was dedicated in the temple. Coins from Megalopolis, from theSeveran period in the early third century, appear to depict a statue from the cult group.[38]
There is a museum at the archaeological site called theArchaeological museum of Lykosoura, housing small finds as well as part of the cult group, while the remains of the cult statues of Despoina and Demeter are displayed at theNational Archaeological Museum of Athens. The most significant artifact among its collection is the veil of Despoina, displaying a complex decorative program, probably representative of the types of embroidered woven materials created by contemporary artists. Also displayed are the heads of Artemis, Demeter,Anytos, and a Tritoness, from the throne in the sanctuary.
| Elements of the cult sculptural group in theNational Archaeological Museum of Athens |
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| From L-R: Artemis, Demeter, Veil of Despoina, Anytus, Tritoness from the throne |
After the adoption of Christianity in Greece, the epithet Despina came to be used as a devotional title for theVirgin Mary.[39]
Despina, a satellite ofNeptune, was named after the goddess Despoina.
