| Dione | |
|---|---|
Goddess of fertility and prophecy | |
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| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Uranus andGaia orAether andGaia orOceanus andTethys |
| Siblings | Oceanids andPotamids or |
| Consort | Zeus |
| Children | Aphrodite (Homer) |
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InGreek religion andmythology,Dione (/daɪˈoʊniː/;Ancient Greek:Διώνη,romanized: Diṓnē,lit. 'Zeus feminine') is thegoddess of sea, prophecy, magic, health, fertility and lust,[1] primarily known from Book V ofHomer'sIliad, where she tends to the wounds suffered by her daughterAphrodite. Dione is presented either anTitaness, the daughter ofUranus andGaia, or anOceanid, the daughter ofOceanus andTethys. She was a goddess primarily worshipped atDodona.
Dione (ΔιώνηDiṓnē, from earlier *ΔιϝωνᾱDiwōnā) is essentially the feminine of the genitive form ofGreek ΖεύςZeús, that is, ΔιόςDiós (from earlier ΔιϝόςDiwós), "of Zeus". Other goddesses were called by this name (see theDione (mythology) article for more).[1]
Due to being a daughter of Dione by some traditions, Aphrodite was sometimes called "Dionaea" (ΔιωναίηDiōnaíē) and even "Dione".[2]
Following the deciphering ofLinear B byVentris andChadwick in the 1950s, a goddess namedDi-u-ja was found in the tablets. This was considered to be a female counterpart of Zeus and identified with Dione by some scholars.[3][who?]
By the time ofStrabo (the first century BC), Dione was worshiped at asacred grove nearLepreon on the west coast of thePeloponnesus.[5] She was also worshiped as a consort at the temples of Zeus,[6] particularly his oracle atDodona[7] (perhaps the original, Indo-European consort ofZeus).Herodotus called this the oldest oracle in Greece and recorded two related accounts of its founding: the priests atThebes in Egypt told him that two priestesses had been taken byPhoenician pirates, one toLibya and the other to Dodona and continued their earlier rites; the priestesses of Dodona claimed that two black doves[8] had flown to Libya and Dodona and commanded the creation of oracles to Zeus.[9] Homer[10] and Herodotus both make Zeus the principal deity of the site, but some scholars propose Dodona originally served as a cult center of anearth goddess.[citation needed]
In the 2nd-century BC sculptural frieze of theGreat Altar of Pergamum, Dione is inscribed in the cornice directly above her name and figures in the eastern third of the north frieze, among the Olympian family of Aphrodite. This placement – making her the offspring ofGaia andUranus – is Homeric and contradicts the theory put forth byErika Simon that the altar's organization was Hesiodic.[11] Dione's possible appearance in the eastpediment of the Parthenon[12] would likewise place her among the children of Gaia and Uranus.
The mythology concerning Dione is not consistent across the existing sources.
In Book V of theIliad, during the last year of theTrojan War,Aphrodite attempts to save her sonAeneas from the rampaging GreekheroDiomedes as she had previously saved her favoriteParis from his duel withMenelaus in Book III. Enraged, Diomedes chases her and drives his spear into her hand between the wrist and palm. Escorted byIris toAres, she borrows his horses and returns toOlympus. Dione consoles her with other examples of gods wounded by mortals – Ares bound by theAloadae andHera andHades shot byHeracles – and notes that Diomedes is risking his life by fighting against the gods.
In fact, Diomedes subsequently fought both Apollo and Ares but lived to an old age; his wifeAegialia, however, took other lovers and never permitted him to return home toArgos after the war.
Dione then heals her wounds and Zeus, while admonishing her to leave the battlefield, calls her daughter.
Dione is not mentioned inHesiod's treatment of theTitans, although the name does appear in theTheogony among his list ofOceanids, the daughters ofOceanus andTethys,[13] and according to Hesiod, Aphrodite was born from the foam created by the severed genitals ofUranus, when they were thrown into the sea byCronus, after he castrated Uranus.[14]
The mythographerApollodorus (first or second century AD) includes Dione among the Titans and makes her the child ofGaia andUranus.[15] He makes her the mother of Aphrodite by Zeus but clearly describes Dione as one of the god's adulterous partners and not his wife.[16]
The Genealogy or Preface ofGaius Julius Hyginus'sFabulae, lists Dione among the children ofTerra (Earth) andAether.[17]
The 5th-century grammarianHesychius of Alexandria described Dione as the mother ofBacchus in her entry from hisAlphabetical Collection of All Words.[18] This is separately supported by one of thescholiasts onPindar.[19]
