Potnia is anAncient Greek word for "Mistress, Lady" and a title of agoddess. The word was inherited byClassical Greek fromMycenean Greek with the same meaning and it was applied to several goddesses. A similar word is the titleDespoina, "the mistress", which was given to the namelesschthonic goddess of the mysteries ofArcadian cult. She was later conflated withKore (Persephone), "the maiden", the goddess of theEleusinian Mysteries,[1] in a life-death rebirth cycle which leads the neophyte from death into life and immortality.Karl Kerenyi identifies Kore with the nameless "Mistress of the labyrinth", who probably presided over the palace ofKnossos in Minoan Crete.
Potnia (Ancient Greek:πότνια, "mistress")[2] is a poetic title of honour, used chiefly in addressing females, whether goddesses or women; its masculine analogue isposis (πόσις).[3] Its hypotheticalProto-Indo-European (PIE) form*pot-niha-, "mistress", "lady", "wife", is the feminine counterpart to*pótis, "husband";cf.Latinhospēs, "host",Sanskritpáti-, "master", "husband", fem.pátnī-, "lady", "wife".[4]Potnia is attested in theLinear B script inMycenaean Greek:𐀡𐀴𐀛𐀊po-ti-ni-ja. The word was inherited inclassical Greek with the same meaning. A related Greek word isdespoina ("Des-potnia" from PIE*dems-potnia meaning "mistress of the house").[5] An alternative etymology of the goddessDemeter comes through Potnia and Despoina ("Dems-meter", from PIE*dems-méh₂tēr, meaning "mother of the house").[6]
Aaron Demsky suggests that in the Ekron inscription dedicated to the local goddess should be read "potnia" instead ofPtgyh.[7][8]
The figure of a goddess of nature, of birth and death was dominant during the Bronze Age, in both Minoan and Mycenean cults. In the Mycenean cult she was known by the title Potnia.[9] The earliest references to the title are inscriptions inLinear B (Mycenean Greek) syllabic script found atPylos and atKnossos,Crete, dated 1450-1300 BC. On a number of tablets from Pylos, we findpo-ti-ni-ja (potnia) without any accompanying word.Chadwick suggests that she was the mother-goddess of the Mycenaeans. It seems that she had an important shrine at the sitePakijanes near Pylos.[10]Wanax (wa-na-ka) was her male companion in the Mycenean cult,[9] and this title was usually applied to the godPoseidon (po-se-da-o). Another epithet of Poseidon wase-ne-si-da-o-ne ("earth-shaker") and in the cave ofAmnisos (Crete)Enesidaon is related to the cult ofEileithyia.[11] She was a goddess of nature concerned with the annual birth of the divine child.[12] Potnia and her male companion (paredros) survived in theEleusinian cult, where the following words were uttered : "Mighty Potnia has born a strong son".[13]
An inscription fromKnossos refers to the "potnia of the labyrinth", who probably presided over the palace of Knossos (da-pu2-ri-to-jo, po-ti-ni-ja).[14][15] A famous Minoan seal impression found byArthur Evans shows a nameless goddess brandishing a spear and standing upon the representation of a mountain flanked by rampant lions, and the representation seems similar to the Homericpotnia theron (the mistress of the animals).
Several tablets in Linear B script found at Knossos and Pylos refer to thepotnia. Potnia is almost always accompanied by an epithet characterizing a particular place or function of the mistress :po-ti-ni-ja,a-si-wi-ja (a-si-wi-ja = ethnic adjective, possibly "Asian (Lydian) woman"),si-to-po-ti-ni-ja (sitos = "grain", of wheat or barley; probably referring toDemeter or her predecessor),po-ti-ni-ja,i-qe-ja (PotniaHippeia, "Horse Goddess"). At Knossos a tablet refers toa-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja, "potniaAthana", a form similar to the later Homeric form.[10][16]
This divine title could be the translation of a similar title ofPre-Greek origin, just as the title "Our Lady" in Christianity is translated in several languages.[17] The Pre-Greek name may be related toa-sa-sa-ra, a possible interpretation of someLinear A texts.[18] Although Linear A is not yet deciphered, Palmer relates tentatively the worda-sa-sa-ra-me which seems to have accompanied goddesses, with theHittiteišhaššara, which means "lady or mistress", and especially withišhaššaramis (my lady).[19]
In classical Greece the titlepotnia is usually applied to the goddessesDemeter,Artemis,Athena, andPersephone. This title was also given to theearth goddessGaia (Ge). A similar titleDespoina, "the mistress", was given to the nameless goddess of the mysteries ofArcadian cult, later conflated withKore (Persephone), the goddess of theEleusinian Mysteries. Homer in theIliad (xxi 470) mentions apotnia theron ("mistress of the animals") who is obviously Artemis.Karl Kerenyi identifies Persephone with the nameless "mistress of the labyrinth". Demeter and Persephone were the two great goddesses of the Arcadian cults. According toPausanias atOlympia they were calledDespoinai ("mistresses", plural ofDespoina).[20] Demeter and Persephone were also called "Demeteres" as duplicates of the earth goddess with a double function aschthonic and vegetation goddesses.
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