Despoina

In Greek mythology, Despoina (Greek: Δέσποινα, Déspoina) was the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon and sister of Arion.[1] She was the goddess of mysteries of Arcadian cults who was worshipped under the title Despoina ("the mistress"), alongside her mother Demeter, one of the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Her real name could not be revealed to anyone except those initiated to her mysteries.[2] Writing during the second century A.D., Pausanias spoke of Demeter as having two daughters; Kore being born first, before Despoina was born, with Zeus being the father of Kore and Poseidon as the father of Despoina. Pausanias made it clear that Kore is Persephone, 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 a mare, but he took the form of a stallion 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 epithet, Erinys (raging).[3]

Etymology

The word, Despoina ("mistress", Δέσποινα), is derived from *des-potnia, "lady or mistress of the house", from PIE *dóm(ha)os, "house(hold)" [*dem(ha)-, "build"] and *potniha-, "lady, mistress"; cf. Greek domos and potnia. The masculine form is Despotes, "master of the house" (Δεσπότης); cf. posis.[4] Related attested forms, written in the Linear B syllabary, are the Mycenaean Greek 𐀡𐀴𐀛𐀊, po-ti-ni-ja, (potnia) and perhaps 𐀡𐀮𐀆𐀃, po-se-da-o, and 𐀡𐀮𐀆𐀺𐀚, po-se-da-wo-ne (Poseidon), which were inherited into classical Greece with identical or related meanings.[n 1] Demeter is possibly a related word, interpreted by some, as "mother of the house" (from PIE *dems-mater).[5]

Cult of Despoina

The cult of Despoina is very important in the history of ancient Greek religion. The Arcadian cults come from a more primitive religion. Evidently, the religious beliefs of the first Greek-speaking people who entered the region were mixed with the beliefs of the indigenous population. The figure of a goddess of nature, birth, and death, was dominant in both Minoan and Mycenean cults during the Bronze Age.[6] Wanax was her male companion (paredros) in the Mycenean cult, and usually, this title was applied to the god Poseidon as king of the sea.[7]

In the myth of the isolated land of Arcadia, the river spirit of the underworld appears as a horse (Poseidon Hippios), as was usual in northern European folklore. He mates with the mare, Demeter,[8] 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.[9] These powers of nature developed into a belief in nymphs and in deities with human forms and the heads or tails of animals. Some of them, such as Pan and the Silenoi, survived into the classical age. The two great Arcadian goddesses, Demeter and Despoina (later Persephone), were closely related to the springs and the animals, and especially, to the goddess Artemis (Potnia Theron: "The mistress of the animals"), who was the first nymph.[10]

On a marble relief at Lycosura is the veil of Despoina, on which human figures are represented with the heads of different animals, obviously, in a ritual dance. Some of them hold flutes. These could be a procession of women with animal masks or of hybrid creatures.[11][12] Similar processions of daemons or human figures with animal masks appear on Mycenean frescoes and gold rings.[13][14] Most of the temples were built near springs, and in some of them there is evidence of a fire which always was kept burning. At Lycosura, a fire burned in front of the temple of Pan, the goat god.[15] The megaron of Eleusis is quite similar to the "megaron" of Despoina at Lycosura.[16]

Sanctuary at Lycosura
Perspective reconstruction of the temple of Despoina: the acrolithic statues of Demeter (L) and Despoina (R) are visible at the scale in the cella

Despoina was worshipped in a sanctuary at Lycosura, west of the town of Megalopolis. Although this cult remained regional rather than becoming panhellenic, this is a very important site for the study of ancient mystery religions. Later, Despoina was conflated with Persephone.

Lady of Auxerre Louvre-An Archaic (640 BC) image from Crete, probably a version of the Minoan goddess identified with Kore

She was known by the additional epithet of Despoine among the general population, just as they surnamed Demeter's daughter by Zeus as Kore (the maiden).[17][18]

Women who worshiped at the site had to adhere to a particular dress code that prohibited participants from wearing black or purple, possibly because this was the colours worn by priestesses.[19]

Origins

In the mysteries Demeter was a second goddess below her daughter, the unnameable "Despoina".[20] It seems that the myths in Arcadia were connected with the first Greek-speaking people who came from the north during the Bronze Age. The two goddesses had close connections with the rivers and the springs. They were related to Poseidon, the god of the rivers and the springs, and especially to Artemis, who was the first nymph. Her epithet, "the mistress", has its analogue in Mycenean Greek inscriptions found at Pylos in southern Greece and at Knossos in Crete. Later, Despoina was conflated with Kore (Persephone), the goddess of the Eleusinian mysteries, in a life-death-rebirth cycle. Karl Kerenyi asserted that the cult was a continuation of a Minoan goddess, and that her name recalls the Minoan-Mycenaean goddess 𐀅𐁆𐀪𐀵𐀍𐄀𐀡𐀴𐀛𐀊, da-pu2-ri-to-jo,po-ti-ni-ja, i.e. the unnamable "Mistress of the Labyrinth" at Knossos.[21][22]

Epithet

"Despoina" was an epithet for several goddesses, especially Aphrodite, Persephone, Demeter, and Hecate.[23][24] Persephone and Demeter are two of the three goddesses of the Eleusinian mysteries. Perhaps they could be the "Two Queens" referred to in various Linear B inscriptions.[25] At Olympia they were called, Despoinai (Δέσποιναι).[26]

The epithet, Despoina, is related to the Mycenean title, "potnia" (po-ti-ni-ja), that usually referred to goddesses. This divine title could be the translation of a similar title of Pre-Greek origin, just as the title "Our lady" in Christianity is translated in several languages.[27] It seems that the original title accompanied the Aegean mother goddess.[28]

Archaeology

At the time of a visit to the sanctuary at Lycosura by Pausanias 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 emperor Hadrian was dedicated in the temple. Coins from Megalopolis, from the Severan period in the early third century, appear to depict a statue from the cult group.[29]

There is a small museum at the archaeological site, 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 the National 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 the National Archaeological Museum of Athens
From L-R: Artemis, Demeter, Veil of Despoina, Anytus, Tritoness from the throne

Other uses
  • In the Orthodox church the title "despoina" is given to the mother of God.
  • In Byzantine Greek despoina was a feminine court title meaning "lady", while the masculine despotes meant "lord".
  • In Modern Greek the title "despinis" (δεσποινίς) means "Miss" and can be used to address young ladies and waitresses, amongst others.
  • Despina, a satellite of Neptune, was named after the goddess Despoina.
  • In the Mass Effect 3 video game, 2181 Despoina is the planet occupied by a powerful ancient mind-controlling species.
  • In the 1963 science fiction novel "Sign of the Labrys" by Margaret St. Clair, one of the main characters is a witch named Despoina.
  • The Marvel comic Seekers of the Weird gave Rolly Crump's Mistress of Evil character the name of "Despoina", as a reference to the original meaning of the name. The name also has a double meaning in this case, as this Despoina was the 'mistress' (in the sense of an unmarried romantic partner) of a demon called the Reaper King.

Notes and references
Notes
  1. A Mycenaean word more directly related to despoina would be the possible theonym 𐀈𐀡𐀲, do-po-ta, provided that the latter is indeed to be read as a form of despotes.
References
  1. Pausanias, 8.25.7, 8.42.1.
  2. Pausanias, 8.37.9
  3. Pausanias, 8.25.5–6
  4. Harper, Douglas. "despot". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  5. Frisk.Griechisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch. Entry 1271
  6. B.Dietriech (2004):The origins of the Greek religion Bristol Phoenix Press pp. 181-185
  7. Dietrich, pp. 181-185
  8. "she was Earth, who bears plants and beasts" :Kerenyi, The Gods of the Greeks, 1951:185
  9. B.Dietriech (2004):The origins of the Greek religion Bristol Phoenix Press.pp. 65-66
  10. M.Nilsson (1967) Die Geschichte der Griechische Religion Vol I, pp. 479-480
  11. Pausanias :8.25, 4 -8.42 -8.37
  12. Nilsson, Vol I, p.479
  13. Martin Robertson (1959). La peinture Grecque. Edition d'art Albert Skira. Genève p.31, National Archaeological Museum of Athens, No. 2665
  14. "procession of daemons in front of a goddess on a gold ring from Tiryns" Martin Nilsson (1967) Vol I, p. 293
  15. Nilsson, Vol I p.478
  16. Burkert: Greek religion p.285
  17. Pausanias 8.37.1,8.38.2
  18. Reconstruction of interior of Sanctuary of Despoina
  19. Dillon, Matthew (2016). "48 'Chrysis the Hiereia having placed a lighted torch near the garlands then fell asleep' (Thucydides Iv.133.2): priestesses serving the gods and goddesses in Classical Greece". Women in Antiquity. New York, NY: Routledge. p. 1365. ISBN 978-1-315-62142-5.
  20. Karl Kerenyi (1967). Eleusis. Archetypal image of mother and daughter. Princeton University Press. p 31f
  21. Found on the Kn Gg 702 tablet.
  22. Karl Kerenyi: Dionysos. The archetypal image of indestructible life. Part I iii The Cretan core of Dionysos myth. Princeton University Press. 1976 p 89, 90
  23. Hathorn, p. 13.
  24. H.Robin, H.J. Rose. The rootledge handbook of greek mythology. p 102
  25. Chadwick.J. The Mycenean world. 1976. UP Cambridge ISBN 0-521-08558-6
  26. Pausanias (1903). "5.15.4". Pausaniae Graeciae Descriptio (in Greek). In 3 volumes. Leipzig: Teubner. At the Perseus Project.
  27. Chadwick: The Mycenean world P.92
  28. F.Schachermeyer (1964) Die Minoische Kultur des alten Kreta, pp. 256, 263, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart
  29. Jost (1985) Sanctuaires et cultes d'Arcadie. Paris

See also

References
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