Potnia is an

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

word for "Mistress, Lady" and a title of a

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

. 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 Archa ...

from

Mycenean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the earliest attested form of the Greek language. It was spoken on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC). The language is preserved in inscriptions in Linear B, a script first attested ...

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

Despoina Despoina or Despoena (; ) was the epithet of a goddess worshipped by the Eleusinian Mysteries in Ancient Greece as the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon and the sister of Arion. Surviving sources refer to her exclusively under the title ''Des ...

, "the mistress", which was given to the nameless

chthonic In Greek mythology, deities referred to as chthonic () or chthonian () were gods or spirits who inhabited the underworld or existed in or under the earth, and were typically associated with death or fertility. The terms "chthonic" and "chthonian" ...

goddess of the mysteries of Arcadian cult. She was later conflated with

Kore KORE (1050 AM) is a commercial radio station dual licensed to Springfield and Eugene, Oregon. It airs a sports radio format and is owned by KORE Broadcasting, LLC. The studios and offices are on Willagillespie Road off Oregon Route 132 in ...

(

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 ...

), "the maiden", the goddess of the

Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries () were initiations held every year for the Cult (religious practice), cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are considered the "most famous of the secret rel ...

, 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 of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cac ...

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

Knossos Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...

in Minoan Crete.

Etymology

Potnia (

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: , "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. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

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

cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

'' ho'', "host",

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

', "master", "husband", fem. ', "lady", "wife". ''Potnia'' is attested in the

Linear B Linear B is a syllabary, syllabic script that was used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest Attested language, attested form of the Greek language. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries, the earliest known examp ...

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 Archa ...

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

despoina Despoina or Despoena (; ) was the epithet of a goddess worshipped by the Eleusinian Mysteries in Ancient Greece as the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon and the sister of Arion. Surviving sources refer to her exclusively under the title ''Des ...

'' ("Des-potnia" from PIE ''*dems-potnia'' meaning "mistress of the house"). An alternative etymology of the goddess

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

comes through Potnia and Despoina ("Dems-meter", from PIE ''*dems-méh₂tēr'', meaning "mother of the house"). Aaron Demsky suggests that in the Ekron inscription dedicated to the local goddess should be read "potnia" instead of Ptgyh.

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

(

) syllabic script found at

Pylos Pylos (, ; ), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of ...

and at

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, 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 not ...

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

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

(''po-se-da-o''). Another epithet of Poseidon was ''e-ne-si-da-o-ne'' ("earth-shaker") and in the cave of

Amnisos Amnisos, also Amnissos and Amnisus (Greek language, Greek: or ; Linear B: 𐀀𐀖𐀛𐀰 ''A-mi-ni-so''), is the current but unattested name given to a Bronze Age settlement on the north shore of Crete that was used as a port to the palace ci ...

(Crete) ''Enesidaon'' is related to the cult of

Eileithyia Eileithyia or Ilithyia (; ; (''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 childbirth and midwifery, and the daughter o ...

. 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. The first excavations at the Minoan palace of Knossos on the List of islands of Greece, Gree ...

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 ''Potnia Theron'' (, ) or Mistress of Animals is a widespread motif in ancient art from the Mediterranean world and the ancient Near East, showing a central human, or human-like, female figure who grasps two animals, one to each side. Alth ...

(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

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 the Argonaut Polyphemus, Caeneus and Ischys. * Athena Hippeia (or Hippeia Athena, "At ...

'', "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 substratum) consists of the unknown pre-Greek language or languages (either Pre-Indo-European or other Indo-European languages) spoken in prehistoric Greece prior to the emergence of the Proto-Greek language in the r ...

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 BC to 1450 BC. Linear A was the primary script used in Minoan palaces, palace and religious writings of the Minoan civilization. It evolved into Linear B, ...

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

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 ...

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 regarde ...

, and

. This title was also given to the

earth goddess Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...

(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'' (; , ; ) 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 ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' (xxi 470) mentions a ''

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

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

and vegetation goddesses.

References

{{Authority control Ancient Greek titles Greek goddesses Women's social titles Knossos Linear B History of women in Greece

Etymology

Origins

Classical Greece

See also

References