Prothyraia () is the figure addressed in the second of the ''

Orphic Hymns The ''Orphic Hymns'' are a collection of eighty-seven ancient Greek hymns addressed to various deities, which were attributed in antiquity to the mythical poet Orpheus. They were composed in Asia Minor (located in modern-day Turkey), most likel ...

'', a collection of ancient Greek hymns composed around the 2nd and 3nd centuries AD.

Epithet

Prothyraia's means 'at the door' or 'at the door-way', and is used to denote a goddess who presides over the area around the entrance to a building. Prothyraia is an

epiclesis The epiclesis (also spelled epiklesis; from , ) refers to the invocation of one or several gods. In ancient Greek religion, the epiclesis was the epithet used as the surname given to a deity in religious contexts. The term was borrowed into the Ch ...

of the goddesses

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 ...

Hecate Hecate ( ; ) is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, or snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. She is variously associat ...

, and

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 ...

; Prothyraia is attested as an epithet of Artemis in a 2nd-century AD inscription discovered in

Epidaurus Epidaurus () was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epi ...

. In Pausanias's ''

Description of Greece ''Description of Greece'' () is the only surviving work by the ancient "geographer" or tourist Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias (c. 110 – c. 180). Pausanias' ''Description of Greece'' comprises ten books, each of them dedicated to some ...

'', there is reference to a temple in

Eleusis Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

which was dedicated to Artemis Propylaia.

''Orphic Hymn''

In line 9 of the ''Orphic Hymn'' to Prothyraia, she is addressed as "Eileithyia", and in line 12 she is called "Artemis Eileithyia". The epithets applied to her in the hymn relate primarily to her role in helping with births, and the request of the hymn implores her to aid in giving birth. Two descriptions the hymn applies to her are (), meaning she "who offers support in the pains of childbirth", and (), meaning she "who accelerates childbirth". The placement of the hymn to Prothyraia, a figure associated with birth, at the beginning of the collection, is significant, and mirrors the position of the hymn to

Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; , ''Thánatos'', pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the Personifications of death, personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referre ...

(Death) as the last hymn. According to Fritz Graf, during the rite in which the ''Orphic Hymns'' played a role, the hymn to Prothyraia may have been sung as the initiates were entering the building where the rite took place.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{Greek mythology (deities), state=collapsed Epithets of Artemis Epithets of Hecate