| Peitho | |
|---|---|
Personification of Persuasion | |
.jpg) Pompeiian fresco of Eros being brought by Peitho to Aphrodite | |
| Abode | Mount Olympus |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Okeanus andTethys |
| Siblings | Oceanids, theriver gods |
InGreek mythology,Peitho (Ancient Greek:Πειθώ,romanized: Peithō,lit. 'Persuasion' or 'winning eloquence'[1]) is the personification ofpersuasion.[2] She is typically presented as an important companion ofAphrodite. Her opposite isBia, the personification of force.[3] As a personification, she was sometimes imagined as a goddess and sometimes an abstract power with her name used both as a common and proper noun.[4] There is evidence that Peitho was referred to as a goddess before she was referred to as an abstract concept, which is rare for a personification.[5] Peitho represents both sexual and political persuasion. She is associated with the art of rhetoric.[5]
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Peitho's ancestry is unclear, as various authors provide different identities for her parents.Hesiod inTheogony identifies Peitho as the daughter of the TitansTethys andOkeanus, which would make her anOkeanid and the sister of notable goddesses such asDione,Doris, andMetis.[1][7] According to the lyric poetSappho, she was the daughter of Aphrodite.[8]Aeschylus identifies her as the daughter of Aphrodite inSuppliant Women (Hiketides), but also describes her as the child ofAte inAgamemnon.[9][10]Nonnus in hisDionysiaca describes theCharites (Graces), an ensemble of goddesses of grace and charm, as including Peitho,Pasithea, andAglaia, and all of them are identified as daughters ofDionysus.[11] TheHellenistic eraelegiac poetHermesianax also refers to Peitho as one of the Charites.[12]Alcman describes her as the daughter ofPrometheia and the sister ofTyche andEunomia.[13]
Nonnus identifies Peitho as the wife ofHermes, the messenger of the gods.[14] However, commentary onEuripides'Orestes notes that Peitho is the wife ofPhoroneus, the primordial King ofArgos, and the mother ofAegialeus,Apis,Europs andNiobe.[15] An alternativeArgive tradition describes her instead as the wife ofArgos, Phoroneus's grandson.[5][16] TheByzantineencyclopedic text,Suda, states that the mother ofIynx was either Peitho orEkho.
Peitho plays a limited role in mythology, mainly appearing with or as a companion of Aphrodite.
A degraded fragment bySappho may identify Peitho as an attendant of Aphrodite, although other possibilities areHebe,Iris, or evenHekate.[17] Pindar characterizes Peitho, either as the abstract concept of persuasion or the goddess, as the wise one that holds the "secret key to holy love", associating her with Aphrodite.[18] She is also described as the nurse of the babyErotes, who are Aphrodite's children.[19] A fragment byIbycus describes Aphrodite and Peitho, who is described as tendered eyed (aganoblepharos), nursingEuryalus among rose blossoms.[20]
Nonnus gives her a role within the marriage ofKadmos andHarmonia, as she appears to Kadmos in the form of a mortal slave and covers Kadmos in a mist to lead him unseen throughSamothrace to the palace ofElectra, Harmonia's adoptive mother.[19] Peitho often appears on a 5th century epinetron by theEretria Painter depicting Harmonia’s bridal preparations with Aphrodite,Eros,Persephone (Kore),Hebe, andHimeros as in attendance.[21] In art, she was also depicted at the weddings forDionysus andAriadne,Alkestis and Admetos,Thetis andPeleus, and at the union of Aphrodite andAdonis.[5] A hydria attributed to the Meidias Painter shows Peitho fleeing from the scene of the abduction of the Leukippidai by theDioskuri, indicating either that she persuaded the women into eloping or that she does not condone the marriage by Athenian standards.[5]
WhenZeus ordered the creation of the first woman,Pandora, Peitho and theCharites placed goldennecklaces around her neck, and theHorae (Seasons) crowned Pandora's head with spring flowers.[22] Extravagant jewelry, particularly necklaces, were viewed with suspicion in Ancient Greek literature, as they were typically seen as a way for women to seduce men, making the necklace a way to enhance Pandora’s sexual attractiveness and persuasive abilities.[23]
In art, Peitho is often represented with Aphrodite during the abduction ofHelen, symbolizing the forces of persuasion and love at work during the scene.[24] Her presence at the event may be interpreted as eitherParis needing persuasion to claim Helen as a prize for choosing Aphrodite, or Helen needing to be persuaded to accompany him to Troy, as Helen's level of agency became a popular topic of discussion in the 5th century.[23] Peitho's presence brings the question of whether mortals have the ability to resist her power or whether they are bound to her persuasive abilities.[23]
Cults dedicated to Peitho date to at least the early 5th century.[17] In her role as an attendant or companion of Aphrodite, Peitho was intimately connected to the goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite and Peitho were sometimes conflated, more commonly in the later periods, with the name Peitho appearing in conjunction with or as anepithet of Aphrodite's name.[23] She is also identified withTyche inSuppliant Women (Hiketides).[25] Peitho was associated withmarriage, since a suitor or his father would negotiate with the father or guardian of a young woman for her hand in marriage and offer a bridal price in return for her. The most desirable women drew many prospective suitors, and persuasive skill often determined the suitor's success.Plutarch includes her on a list of five deities for new couples to pray to, also included are Zeus (Teleios),Hera (Teleia), Aphrodite, andArtemis.[26]
Peitho was an important figure for emphasising civic harmony, particularly inAthens andArgos, and harmony within interpersonal relationships.[27] Notably in Athens, the unification (synoikismos) of the city byTheseus was only possible with the intervention of both Aphrodite and Peitho to create democratic spirit and cooperation.[5] In Argos, she was paired with the early kings of the city, functioning as a civic unifier in a similar role asHarmonia, the first Queen ofThebes.[28] On a 4th century vase fromApulia, Peitho and Hermes are depicted together instructingTripolemus to teach agriculture to mankind, indicating Peitho's role in creating harmony through civilization.[3] Plutarch outlines Peitho’s role in interpersonal harmony inMoralia, where he states that persuasion’s role within a marriage is so that spouses can achieve their wants without quarreling. InEumenides, Athena thanks Peitho after convincing theFuries of her reasoning in acquittingOrestes and successfully defusing strife.[29] However, Peitho may be a destructive force when used for seduction or selfish personal gains, such as inAgamemnon whereClytemnestra curses Peitho for Paris’s stealing of Helen, and she uses persuasion to convinceCassandra to enter the house in order to murder her.
Pausanias reports that after the unification (synoikismos) ofAthens, Theseus set up a cult ofAphrodite Pandemos and Peitho on the south slope ofAcropolis of Athens.[30] In recognition of this myth, both goddesses were worshipped in theAtticAphrodisia Festival.[31] Peitho was worshipped independently as the goddess of both sexual and rhetorical persuasion in Athens from the 4th century into theRoman Imperial era, the time ofPausanias’s writing.[23][5] However, some scholars believe it is possible that worship dates to the 6th century, but there is not strong evidence for this assertion.[27] A votive inscription to Peitho was found at the site of the Temple of Aphrodite, reinforcing the link between these goddesses at Athens.[28] TheTheatre of Dionysus had seat reserved for the priestess of Peitho.[23] Peitho was an important figure to Athenianrhetoricians in 5th century and was considered an important figure for human affairs, as persuasion was a major component to rhetoric. RhetoricianIsocrates notes in Section 249 ofAntidosis that sacrifices are made to Peitho in the city annually.[4] Furthermore, comic poetEupolis said that Peitho sat on the lips ofPericles for his persuasive skills.[3] Persuasion was considered essential for the democratic state's success.[31]
Despite her connection to Aphrodite in Athens, Peitho was more commonly associated with Artemis in thePeloponnese, as the two goddesses either shared a temple atArgos or "Peitho" being used as an epithet for Artemis.[5] Peitho’s association with Artemis may have formed due to a shared with importance with adult development and the loss of sexual innocence.[32] At Argos, this temple was also shared withHypermestra, who was acquitted in trial of a case brought by her father, as she was the onlyDanaid who did not murder her husband on her wedding night as per her father's orders.[28][17] With this association, Peitho is connected to persuasive speech generally as opposed to just seductive persuasion.[28]
Pindar refers tocourtesans and prostitutes inCorinth as "the servants of Peitho", however, he does not elaborate on whether there was any cults associated with Peitho in the city nor whether courtesans had a particular reverence for the goddess.[33] This passage has stirred debate among scholars one whether sacred prostitution was practiced in Greece.[32] Peitho was commonly shown wearing jewelry, fixing her clothing, holding jars of perfume, or looking into mirrors, traits that may be associated withhetairai.[32]
InSicyon, Peitho had a cult and a temple, which was connected to the cults of Artemis andApollo.[17] According to a local cult practice recorded by Pausanias, during the festival of Apollo, seven boys and girls take the statues of Artemis and Apollo to the Sythas River and take them to the sanctuary of Peitho, after which they are returned to the Temple of Apollo.[34] The aetiological myth for this practice was that the citizens of Sicyon refused to purify the twin gods after the slaying ofPython, and as a result a plague was sent to the city. Seven boys and girls went to the river to convince the gods to return, they were successful, indicating that even the gods are susceptible to the power of persuasion, and the sanctuary to Peitho was established at this spot.[17] There was no cult image to Peitho by theRoman Imperial Period, however, this does mean that one never existed.[17]
According to Pausanias, in addition to the cults and sanctuaries dedicated to Peitho at Athens and Argos, there was an image decorating the throne at the Temple of Zeus atOlympia where Aphrodite, rising from the sea is greeted byEros and crowned by Peitho.[35][36] InMegara, statues of Peitho andParegoros (personification of soothing words) stood in the Temple of Aphrodite Praxis (of intercourse).[32] There is also evidence that Peitho had cults inParos,Thasos, andLesbos.[23]
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