Potnia is an

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

word for "Mistress, Lady" and a title of a goddess. The word was inherited by

Classical Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

from

Mycenean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC), before the hypothesised Dorian invasion, often cited as the ''terminus ad quem'' for the ...

with the same meaning and it was applied to several goddesses. A similar word is the title

Despoina In Greek mythology, Despoina or Despoena (; el, Δέσποινα, Déspoina) was the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon and sister of Arion. She was worshipped under the title ''Despoina'' ("the mistress") alongside her mother Demeter, one of t ...

, "the mistress", which was given to the nameless chthonic goddess of the mysteries of Arcadian cult. She was later conflated with

Kore Kore may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Kore (comics), a comic-book series by Josh Blaylock and Tim Seeley *Kore (producer), French-Algerian music producer, also part of duo Kore & Skalp *Kore (sculpture), a type of ancient Greek sculpture dep ...

(

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 ...

), "the maiden", the goddess of the

Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are th ...

, in a life-death rebirth cycle which leads the neophyte from death into life and immortality.

Karl Kerenyi Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austri ...

identifies Kore with the nameless "Mistress of the labyrinth", who probably presided over the palace of

Knossos Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city. Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...

in Minoan Crete.

Etymology

Potnia (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: , "mistress") is a poetic title of honour, used chiefly in addressing females, whether goddesses or women; its masculine analogue is ''posis'' (). Its hypothetical

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...

(PIE) form ''*'', "mistress", "lady", "wife", is the feminine counterpart to ''*pótis'', "husband";

cf. The abbreviation ''cf.'' (short for the la, confer/conferatur, both meaning "compare") is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Style guides recommend that ''cf.'' be used onl ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

'' ho'', "host",

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

', "master", "husband", fem. ', "lady", "wife". ''Potnia'' is attested in the Linear B script in Mycenean

: ''po-ti-ni-ja''. The word was inherited in

classical Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

with the same meaning. A related Greek word is ''

despoina In Greek mythology, Despoina or Despoena (; el, Δέσποινα, Déspoina) was the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon and sister of Arion. She was worshipped under the title ''Despoina'' ("the mistress") alongside her mother Demeter, one of t ...

'' ("Des-potnia" from PIE ''*dems-potnia'' meaning "mistress of the house"). An alternative etymology of the goddess Demeter comes through Potnia and Despoina ("Dems-meter", from PIE ''*dems-méh₂tēr'', meaning "mother of the house"). Potnia is possibly also etymologically related to Ptgyh, an attested Philistine goddess.

Origins

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.B.Dietriech (2004):''The origins of the Greek religion'' Bristol Phoenix Press. pp. 181-185 The earliest references to the title are inscriptions in Linear B (

) syllabic script found at Pylos and at

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

, dated 1450-1300 BC. On a number of tablets from Pylos, we find ''po-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 site ''Pakijanes'' near Pylos.G. Mylonas (1965) ''Mycenae and the Mycenaean age'', Princeton University Press, p.159

Wanax (Greek: ; from earlier , ') is an ancient Greek word for "tribal chief, lord, (military) leader".. It is one of the two Greek titles traditionally translated as "king", the other being basileus, and is inherited from Mycenaean Greece. It is nota ...

(''wa-na-ka'') was her male companion in the Mycenean cult, and this title was usually applied to the god

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

(''po-se-da-o'') as king of the underworld. Another epithet of Poseidon was ''e-ne-si-da-o-ne'' ("earth-shaker") and in the cave of Amnisos (Crete) ''Enesidaon'' is related to the cult of

Eileithyia Eileithyia or Ilithyiae or Ilithyia (; grc-gre, Εἰλείθυια; (''Eleuthyia'') in Crete, also (''Eleuthia'') or (''Elysia'') in Laconia and Messene, and (''Eleuthō'') in literature)Nilsson Vol I, p. 313 was the Greek goddess of ch ...

. She was a goddess of nature concerned with the annual birth of the divine child.Dietrich: pp.109, 141 Potnia and her male companion (''paredros'') survived in the Eleusinian cult, where the following words were uttered : "Mighty Potnia has born a strong son". An inscription from

refers to the "potnia of the labyrinth", who probably presided over the palace of Knossos (''da-pu₂-ri-to-jo, po-ti-ni-ja''). A famous Minoan seal impression found by

Arthur Evans Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. He is most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete. Based on ...

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 Homeric potnia theron (the mistress of the animals). Several tablets in Linear B script found at Knossos and Pylos refer to the ''potnia''. 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 to Demeter or her predecessor), ''po-ti-ni-ja,i-qe-ja'' (''Potnia

Hippeia Hippeia or Hippea (Ancient Greek: Ἱππεία) is the name of two characters in Greek mythology. * Hippea, daughter of Antippus. She married Elatus and bore Polyphemus, Caeneus, Ischys and Ampycus. * Athena Hippeia (or Hippeia Athena, "Athena ...

'', "Horse Goddess"). At Knossos a tablet refers to ''a-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja'', "potnia Athana", a form similar to the later Homeric form. This divine title could be the translation of a similar title of

Pre-Greek The Pre-Greek substrate (or Pre-Greek substratum) consists of the unknown pre-Indo-European language(s) spoken in prehistoric Greece before the coming of the Proto-Greek language in the Greek peninsula during the Bronze Age. It is possible that ...

origin, just as the title "Our Lady" in Christianity is translated in several languages. The Pre-Greek name may be related to ''a-sa-sa-ra '', a possible interpretation of some

Linear A Linear A is a writing system that was used by the Minoans of Crete from 1800 to 1450 BC to write the hypothesized Minoan language or languages. Linear A was the primary script used in palace and religious writings of the Minoan civi ...

texts. Although Linear A is not yet deciphered, Palmer relates tentatively the word ''a-sa-sa-ra-me'' which seems to have accompanied goddesses, with the Hittite ''išhaššara'', which means "lady or mistress", and especially with ''išhaššaramis'' (my lady).

Classical Greece

In classical Greece the title ''potnia'' is usually applied to the goddesses Demeter,

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 ...

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...

, and

. This title was also given to the

earth goddess An Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth. Earth goddesses are often associated with the "chthonic" deities of the underworld. Ki and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corres ...

Gaia (Ge). A similar title ''Despoina'', "the mistress", was given to the nameless goddess of the mysteries of Arcadian cult, later conflated with

(

), the goddess of the

. Homer in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

'' (xxi 470) mentions a '' potnia theron'' ("mistress of the animals") who is obviously Artemis.

identifies Persephone with the nameless "mistress of the labyrinth". Demeter and Persephone were the two great goddesses of the Arcadian cults. According to

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

at Olympia they were called ''Despoinai'' ("mistresses", plural of ''Despoina'').

.''Description of Greece'

/ref> Demeter and Persephone were also called "Demeteres" as duplicates of the earth goddess with a double function as chthonic and vegetation goddesses.

References

{{Authority control Ancient Greek titles Greek goddesses Women's social titles Knossos

Etymology

Origins

Classical Greece

See also

References