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

Cotyttia Cotyttia (, ''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 the Edones as a celebr ...

'', resembled that of the Phrygian

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...

, 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, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

'' Höðr'' "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 Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

, 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, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and Dorian

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

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

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

, but in literature she was instead compared with the Oriental-Greek-Roman

(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 Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

, and her cult shares similarities with that of

Bendis Bendis () was a Thracian goddess associated with hunting and the moon. Worship of the goddess seems to have been introduced into Attica around 430 BC. In Athens, Bendis was identified with the goddess Artemis, but she had a separate temple at ...

. She was particularly worshipped among the

Edones The Edoni (also ''Edones'', ''Edonians'', ''Edonides'') () were a Thracian tribe 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 Axios. They inhabite ...

. The

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

mentions that she was also worshiped among the

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

ians.

In Literature

* ''Baptae'' by

Eupolis Eupolis (; 446 411 BC) was an Athenian poet of the Old Comedy, who flourished during the time of the Peloponnesian War. Biography Very little is known about Eupolis' life. His father was named Sosipolis. There are few sources on when he first ...

portrays celebrities of the time as worshippers of Kotys who engage in perversion and crossdressing during their acts of worship. * " Comus" by

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

briefly alludes to Cotytto as a dark-veiled goddess and mysterious dame whose secret flames burns midnight torches. *

Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

’s poem “Prelude” in ''Songs Before Sunrise'' references Cotys's orgiastic nature and role as a goddess of the Edones in Thrace. * Cotys is the name of the main character in

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

’s short story “The Stone of Cybele.” She is not the goddess with the same name, though she bears some similarities, and another character recites poetry about the goddess to her.

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 The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

.'' 1. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1867.

External links

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