Kotys ( grc, Κότυς '), also called Kotytto (Κοτυττώ), was a Thracian goddess whose festival, the ''

Cotyttia Cotyttia ( el, Κοτύττια, ''Kotuttiā'') was an orgiastic, nocturnal religious festival of ancient Greece and Thrace in celebration of Kotys, the goddess of sex, considered an aspect of Persephone. Celebration Cotyttia originated with th ...

'', resembled that of the Phrygian

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian language, Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian language, Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother godde ...

, and was celebrated on hills with riotous proceedings and orgiastic rites, especially at night.

Etymology

The name ''Kotys'' is believed to have meant "war, slaughter", akin to

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

Höðr Höðr ( non, Hǫðr ; often anglicized as Hod, Hoder, or Hodur) is a god in Norse mythology. The blind son of Odin and Frigg, he is tricked and guided by Loki into shooting a mistletoe arrow which was to slay the otherwise invulnerable Baldr. ...

'' "war, slaughter".

Worship

Worship of Kotys was apparently adopted publicly in Corinth (''c.'' 425 BC), and perhaps privately in Athens about the same time, and was connected, like that of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

, with licentious frivolity. It then included a baptismal ceremony. Kotys was often worshipped during nocturnal ceremonies, which were associated with rampant insobriety and obscene behaviour. Her worship appears to have spread even as far as

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and Dorian

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Later relief sculptures from Thrace showed her as a huntress-goddess similar to

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

, but in literature she was instead compared with the Oriental-Greek-Roman Cybele (Great Mother of the Gods). Those who celebrated her festival were called βάπται or '' baptes,'' which means "bathers," from the purifications which were originally connected with the solemnity: the pre-worship purification ceremony involved an elaborate bathing ritual. Some Greeks considered Kotys to be an aspect of

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...

, and her cult shares similarities with that of

Bendis Bendis ( grc, Βένδις) was a Thracian goddess associated with hunting and the moon. Goddess worship seems to have been introduced into Attica around 430 BC. Some writers identified Bendis in Attica with the goddess Artemis, but the temple ...

. She was particularly worshipped among the

Edones The Edoni (also ''Edones'', ''Edonians'', ''Edonides'') ( el, Ἠδωνιοί) were a Thracian people who dwelt mostly between the Nestus and the Strymon rivers in southern Thrace, but also once dwelt west of the Strymon at least as far as the Ax ...

. The Suda mentions that she was also worshiped among the Corinth, Corinthians.Suda, ka.2171
/ref>

References

Bibliography

"Cotys"
The Editors. ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 31 Oct. 2007. Accessed 24 January 2022.
"Cotys (1)"
William Smith (ed.) ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.'' 1. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1867.

External links

"COTYS (Kotys) - Thracian Goddess of the Wilds"
''Theoi Project'', 2017. Accessed 24 January 2022. {{Dacia topics Thracian goddesses Religion in ancient Athens Dacian goddesses Culture in Classical Athens Epithets of Persephone War goddesses