It is not a frequent word at Knossos, only recurring certainly on three tablets;

P O T N I A

The divine names encountered on the Mycenaean tablets open up a whole new field for investigation. The final conclusions must be left to the experts on Greek religion, and the object of this study is only to examine the occurrences of one of these divine names and offer some preliminary suggestions about its owner.

I. Potnia at Knossos.

The words a-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja Athctna potnia occur in V 52.1, with no divider, and followed by the numeral I and a lacuna. The collocation is never repeated, and the name Athänä never certainly recurs. This is a shaky foundation upon which to build, and we must reject the temptation to equate Potnia with Athena, at least until we know what else can be said about Potnia.

It is not a frequent word at Knossos, only recurring certainly on three tablets;

but in each case it seems to be a name in its own right, not simply an attribute to another name. The fragment M 729 tells us nothing;

Oa7374 is one of the dated tablets, thus recalling the religious offerings of the / ^ - s e r i e s , but its ideogram is an

with sur- charged WE. There remains only Gg702, where the analogy of both the first line (pa-si-te-o-i) and of the other tablets of the series confirms that Potnia is a goddess. Here however she is called da-pu

-ri-to-jo po-ti-ni-ja. Palmer

has equated this word with Aaßupivo'OLO, interchange of d\l being known in 'Aegeanic' words, though not yet certainly confirmed on the tablets. The identification is extremely attractive. But there is no reason to associate Athena with the Labyrinth, and we must therefore conclude that there were at least two places where Potnia was worshipped. W e shall see a parallel to this at Pylos.

1

Palmer has suggested (at the London Seminar) that a-ta-na is here to be understood as a place-name, like da-pu

-ri-to-jo. Interesting as it is, the sugges- tion cannot be verified; and, of course, Athänäs is not Athänäön ('Aô-irjvôv).

2 £/GSII(i955)>P-40.

K n o s s o s also yields three fragments where the end of the word is missing (X 444, X 997, X 7851). T h e s e are p e r h a p s to b e restor- ed as the derivative adjective, on which see below.

2. Potnia at Pylos.

T h e n a m e Potnia occurs five times at Pylos in published texts a n d five times m o r e in the u n p u b l i s h e d 1955 tablets. O n this s h o w i n g alone it is a m o n g the most frequently r e c u r r i n g divine n a m e s at Pylos. T h e examples are:

Cc665 ne-wo-pe-o po-ti-ni-ja RAM TOO PIG 190.

T h e word ne-wo-pe-o recurs in the lists of slave-women (Aa786, A b 5 5 4 ) and might be a place-name; b u t in view of A d 6 8 8 ne-wo-pe-o ko-wo it is p e r h a p s m o r e likely a descriptive term for the w o m e n ; p r e s u m a b l y a two-termination c o m p o u n d adjective in -os, since its genitive plural is identical with its nominative plural, and therefore n o t an ethnic. No conclusions as regards Potnia seem possible h e r e . F n 187.8. A n allocation of 48 litres of BARLEY and FIGS to u-po-jo po-ti-ni-ja. It may b e significant that the other recipients on this

tablet include two n a m e s derived from Poseidon (po-si-da-i-jo-de, po-si-da-i-je-u-si) and four lines above the place-name pa-ki-ja-na-de.

u-po-jo Potnia recurs on two of the 1955 tablets: 1225 where she receives 12 litres of oil for t h e anointing of robes; 1236 where she is located at pa-ki-ja-ni-jo a-ko-ro. T h e suggestions for u-po-jo (Georgiev huphoio from a mase, c o r r e s p o n d i n g to neut. ucpoç; Lurya hupown ' t h e u n d e r w o r l d ' )1 are without confirmation.

T n 3 l 6 . 3 . If, as I believe, B e n n e t t is right in reversing the o r d e r of the sides, Potnia is the first deity m e n t i o n e d on this tablet, a n d she is specifically located at pa-ki-ja-si: a surprising entry since P Y L O S is written large at t h e b e g i n n i n g of. the paragraph. It would s e e m t h a t pa-ki-ja-si occupies t h e same place in the formula as po-si-da- i-jo and the other derivatives of divine n a m e s on the reverse. U n l e s s t h e s e 'datives' have the force of ablatives, it is hard to resist t h e conclusion that t h e y are geographically identified with Pylos; i. e.

t h e y are areas or buildings within the region known as Pylos. W e

1 V. Georgiev, Lexique, s. v

POTNIA 119

shall have to return to the n a m e Pakijana later.1 Potnia receives the s a m e offerings as other g o d d e s s e s (pe-re-ja2> di-u-ja and Piera): a gold vessel and a w o m a n .

V n 4 8 . 3 . This is a b a d l y p r e s e r v e d tablet, t h e r e a d i n g s of which are uncertain. It is a distribution list (there are two datives in -si and one instance of the allative suffix -de) of an u n k n o w n c o m m o d i t y , no i d e o g r a m s b e i n g used. I venture to hazard a restoration of line 3:

pa-[ki]-ja-[na? {\-e-re-wi-jo po-ti-ni-ja I

T h e first word might have o t h e r endings; b u t hierewion is a likely g u e s s . F o r the spelling cf. i-e-re-u E n 7 4 . i 6 ; i-je-re-wi-jo K N K 875.6, t h e sense of which is o b s c u r e . H e r e the m e a n i n g 'sacrificial victim' m a y b e appropriate; but t h e m o r e generalized sense of 'offering' would p e r h a p s fit b o t h c o n t e x t s .

Un2ig.y. A n o t h e r enigmatic list, b u t a p p a r e n t l y containing deities as well as mortals: a-ti-mi-te is possibly dative of A r t e m i s (but genitive a-te-mi-to ES650.5), e-ma-a2 = Hermääi, and in line 8 I believe the correct r e a d i n g to b e e-[ra] u 1 (=Heräi).2 T h e com- m o d i t i e s are abbreviated b y the use of single p h o n e t i c signs a n d c a n n o t be interpreted. T h e divinity of Potnia need not b e q u e s t i o n e d , n o r h e r association with O l y m p i a n deities.

T h r e e new tablets, 1206, 1231 and 1235, also refer to Potnia. In one case the n a m e is followed b y a-si-wi-ja (see below); in t h e o t h e r cases the n a m e is associated with what may be indications of date or locality.

3. Po-ti-ni-ja-we-jo

It will be convenient to t r e a t t o g e t h e r the examples from K n o s - sos a n d Pylos of a word which, for all its u n c o u t h form, is plainly a derivative of Potnia. It occurs in the form po-ti-ni-ja-we-jo {-ja), once at K n o s s o s (X 7742) spelt po-ti-ni-ja-we-i-jo. This is p r o b a b l y only a scriptio plena, not a different form. It occurs (or can be restored) at K n o s s o s in two fragments devoid of significant c o n t e x t (F 760,

1 The close association of Pakijana with Pylos is perhaps confirmed by Ae303, which refers to a priestess at Pylos as if this were sufficient identifica- tion; we might have expected Pylos to have more than one priestess. But may not the priestess far excellence be she of Pakijana? If so, the female slave attributed to the latter in E0224.6 may be one of the 14-)- specified in Ae303.

2 Cf. H. Mühlestein, «Panzeus in Pylos», Minos IV (1956), p. 79 and 88-89.

X 7742); in a series of SHEEP tablets (mostly Dl-)\ a n d in G 820, a p p a r e n t l y an account of rations issued to w o m e n of various Cretan t o w n s . T h e c o m p l e t e e n t r y h e r e is:

??pa-i-~\ti-ja ku-ta-ti-ja-qe po-ti-ni-ja-we-ja a-pu ke-u-po-de-ja [?] MONTH 4

T h e o t h e r p l a c e - n a m e s in this t a b l e t are ku-do-ni-ja a n d t h e e t h n i c pa3-ko-we-i-ja. T h e loss of the left h a n d e d g e of t h e tablet m a k e s t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n a little uncertain; b u t it is unlikely that m o r e t h a n 2-4 signs are lost in each line. If so, t h e r e is no room for a d e s c r i p t i v e noun, and this m u s t b e s o u g h t either in t h e ethnic or in po-ti-ni-ja-we-ja; in either case one of t h e adjectives m u s t be u s e d

as a substantive, and which it is h a r d l y affects the sense. T h e Dl- g r o u p (DI930, D1933-J-968, DI943, DI946, DI950, with which p r o b - a b l y b e l o n g D 7147, D 7503, X 7771) are characterized b y t h e r e c o r d of SHEEP b o t h supplied a n d owing a n d a similar entry for

WOOL, t h e totals being in p r o p o r t i o n of IO:I.1 po-ti-ni-ja-we-jo (the omission of the last sign on DI943 is a scribe's error) forms the u p p e r line entry; h e n c e the fragment X 7742 w h e r e it occupies t h e b o t t o m line p r o b a b l y belongs to a n o t h e r g r o u p . This position is n o r m a l l y o c c u p i e d b y t h e 'collector',2 a n d it might b e r e g a r d e d as a m a n ' s n a m e in these cases. Its use as a feminine adjective in G 820, a n d as a masculine adjective at Pylos, tells against this. T h e lower line regularly shows a place-name. In five cases this is, or can b e r e s t o r e d as, si-ja-du-we; Dl 943 has insteadpa2-nwa-so and X 7771 (if it b e l o n g s here) ra-ja; the e n t r y is missing on D 7 1 4 7 . si-ja-du-we only occurs elsewhere on DX969, with t h e word a-ko-ra 'collection.' pa2-nwa-so does not occur elsewhere (pa2-nu-wa-so A s i 5 1 6 . 1 7 is a

m a n ' s name); ra-ja is a c o m m o n place-name on the D- tablets, also found on CI1979. No significant conclusion can b e drawn, e x c e p t that t h e r e is a strong link b e t w e e n t h e . word and t h e place si-ja- du-we.

po-ti-ni-ja-we-jo occurs at Pylos in c o n t e x t s which clearly show t h a t it is an adjective. Twice we have lists of po-ti-ni-ja-we-jo smiths:

1 Ventris and Chadwick, Documents in Mycenaean Greek, p. 204. I am unable to accept Sundwall's arguments in Zur Buchführung im Palast von Knossos, Soc. Scientiarum Fennica, Comm. Hum. Litt. 22.3, p. 1-14.

2 See Documents, p. 200-1.

POTNIA 1 2 1

at A-ke-re-wa Jn3lO. 14 and at A-pe-ke-e J n 4 3 i . l 6 . In the latter case the list is s e p a r a t e from that of the other smiths at the same place, the t a b l e t having been deliberately cut. A man in E p 6 l 7 - I 4 is called we-ra\. po\ti-ni-ja-we-jo\ the first w o r d is p r o b a b l y a m a n ' s n a m e , b u t a c o m m o n noun c a n n o t be excluded. In E q 2 i 3 . 5 w e have po-ti-ni-ja-we-jo-jo o-te-pe-o-jo o-ro-jo, a p p a r e n t l y as a topographical

indication, since in lines 2-4 o-ro-jo is p r e c e d e d by a place-name in t h e genitive. T h e a m o u n t of WHEAT (6 units) is t h e smallest of t h e five entries on this tablet. In U n 2 4 9 . l a man called Philaios is d e s c r i b e d as po-ti-\ni\-ja-we-jo a-re-pa-zo-\o, an unguent-boiler; pro- b a b l y not the same as the goat-herd of Ae2Ó4.

I a m u n a b l e to offer any satisfactory explanation of the form of the adjective. It seems to r e p r e s e n t Potniaweios, i. e. a suffix -weios, w h e r e we should expect -ios (Potniaios). T h e classical adjectives are feminine UOTVUXC, and a derivative Iloxvteúc from the place-name IToxvcai. It is possible that the w conceals an unwritten consonant, and t h e suffix m a y really be a c o m p o u n d . Extension of -weios from t h e o r d i n a r y suffix of material -eios, b y misdivision in words like dorweios, is possible but unlikery.1

4. Pakijana

A t Pylos u-po-jo po-ti-ni-ja is clearly located at the place Paki- jana2 b y T n 316 a n d 1236, and the s a m e location is suggested b y F n i 8 7 . 8 a n d possibly V n 4 8 . 3 . Since no other genitives p r e c e d e Potnia, it may b e that Potnia alone m e a n s the s a m e as u-po-jo Potnia, b u t the mention of Potnia Aswia p r e c l u d e s any certainty.

H o w e v e r t h e association with Pakijana is important, as we k n o w a g o o d deal a b o u t this place. B e n n e t t3 has shown that it is the h o m e of a curious religious c o m m u n i t y ; b u t we m a y p r o c e e d a stage further and assert that there is n o t h i n g in the main g r o u p of E- t a b l e t s (excluding Eq- Er- and Es-) which d e m a n d s a location other t h a n Pakijana; and the fact that n a m e s of the c o m p o s i t e lists (En-, Eo-, Ep-) show overlapping is a clear indication that all the land is

1 Of apparent parallels e-te-wo-ke-re-we-i-jo is a derivative in -ios of Etewoklewês; sa-pi-ti-ne-we-jo is obscure.

2 This conventional spelling may be usefully adopted in the discussion; its true form is uncertain, cf. Documents p. 143.

3 . Amer. Journal of Archaeology LX (1956), p. 132-3.

in the same area. Now t h e r e is another curious feature peculiar to t h e series Ea-Ep, the p r e s e n c e of theoio doeloi and doelai. W e must therefore c o n c l u d e that 'the deity' was i m m e d i a t e l y recognisable to the writers as the patron of Pakijana. Similarly 'the priestess of Pakijana' implies a particular deity w h o m she serves; whereas the two priests are always given their n a m e s .1 T h e priestess is also the leader of t h e religious c o m m u n i t y and speaks for the deity if c u r r e n t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of E b 2 9 7 , E p 7 0 4 . 5 , 6 are c o r r e c t (the p r i e s t - ess is in d i s p u t e with the damos). This seems to prove that the deity was female, and freóc is of course regularly of c o m m o n g e n d e r in early Greek.2 W e have already a female deity, Potnia, associated with Pakijana. T h e inference that t h e y are one and the same is highly p r o b a b l e , t h o u g h it hardly a m o u n t s to a rigorous proof.3

5. Identification of Potnia.

So far we have shown that Potnia was the n a m e or title used to d e s i g n a t e an i m p o r t a n t goddess, who had a large c o m m u n i t y d e v o t e d to h e r service at a place not far from Pylos, and may even have b e e n the chief deity of the region. If we now turn to historical t i m e s , we find a curious diversity of usage. O n the one h a n d H o m e r uses xoxvia only as an epithet applied to any g o d d e s s , q u e e n or p r i n c e s s . T h e appellative use continues in classical p o e t r y . It is simply an honorific title and cannot help our investigation.

But ¡QOTVUXI, used alone in the plural, is well known as a divine title. It is applied as a rule to D e m e t e r and K o r e , a use well illus- t r a t e d b y Pausanias' a c c o u n t of the place IIoivuxi.4 Potnia in t h e singular m e a n s K o r e a c c o r d i n g to the scholiast's interpretation of the oath val xàv üóiviav Theocr. 15.14. A l t e r n a t i v e l y a n u m b e r of

1 we-te-re-u, pi-ke-re-u. Bennett's attempted demonstration (art. cit.

p. 130-1) that we-te-re-u is a title rather than a name is inconclusive. A list may include a named individual alongside a number of titles. The identification of a-pi-me-de as a priest is pure conjecture.

2 And in Arcadian: TCCI ô-eoî Schwyzer, Dial. 654.23.

3 So already, but on less certain grounds, A. Furumark, Éranos LU (1954), p. 38. The special use of ó freóc, r¡ fi-eá at Eleusis (Farnell, Cults of the Greek States, III, p. 135-8) is probabty no more than a coincidence.

4 Paus. 9.8.1; cf. Soph. O. C. 1050; Ar. Thesm. 1149, 1156. xò üoiviécov tpóv at Mycale (Hdt. 9.97) probably belongs here too; see K. Schering in RE XXII. 1

col. 1188.

POTN'IA 1 2 3

passages are quoted from Attic poetry to show that Tíóxvtai can mean the Eumenides.

Since the title is an inherited Greek word meaning 'wife' or 'lady' as in Vedic patriï (cf. Avest. paiïnï, Lith. vies-patni), it is likely that it would be applied, perhaps first as a translation equivalent (Lehnübersetzung) of a native name, to a deity originally worshipped by non-Greeks. So too at Rome the foreign Magna Mater is one of the few to have a significant name. That the worship of Demeter and Kore was of pre-Greek origin is also highly probable, and there is thus no reason to suppose that the clue provided by clas- sical usage is misleading. W e must not of course equate the Mycenaean Potnia with Demeter or Kore as we know them from later sources. It is hardly likely that Greek religious belief remained static for the next five centuries; but the essential elements of a chthonic fertility cult can probably be attributed to Demeter's Mycenaean forerunner. The fact that the Mycenaean Potnia is apparently always singular is a further indication that the classical parallel must not be pressed too far. It is possible that the context or defining epithets served to distinguish mother and daughter; or that the two aspects of the goddess of fertility had not yet been rationalized into two distinct deities. However, the hypothesis that Potnia was the Mycenaean name for a mother-goddess of non-Greek origin is prima facie plausible, and can be supported by other evidence.

The only other important series of

(i. e. land) tablets, if we exclude the two classified as Er-, is that grouped as Es-. These are exclusively concerned with offerings to Poseidon together with small amounts for certain other divine or human titles. This might be without significance since Es- is presumably not located at Pakijana, but for the fact that the reverse of T n 3 l 6 , which cannot be separated from the obverse with the Potnia entry, has two deriv- atives of Poseidon: po-si-da-i-jo and po-si-da-e-ja. Moreover it mentions Iphimedeia {i-pe-me-de-ja) who is the consort of Poseidon in Odyssey 11.306. There is evidence that Poseidon and Demeter are associated in later cults,

even if we do not place much faith in

1 RE, loc. cit.

2 Farnell, Cults of the Greek States, IV, p. 6.

K r e t s c h m e r ' s e t y m o l o g y of IloastSáojv as containing xóotc, masculine to iroxvict, and *§a, as in Aa-jxax^p.1

In Pylos Enócx). í we have t h e entry:

pa-ki-ja-ni-ja tosa da-ma-te DA 40

I am not finally convinced t h a t da-ma-te is Damater, n o r t h a t DA is a measure of land, t h o u g h this does s e e m t o c o r r e s p o n d with t h e a m o u n t r e c o r d e d in the o t h e r t a b l e t s of this series.3 It is p e r h a p s curious that D e m e t e r should a p p e a r only on the t a b l e t s as a substitute for cornland.

If Potnia is a title r a t h e r than a real name, we may be justified in looking for other n a m e s b y which she may b e k n o w n in special capacities. Iphimedeia, as hinted above, m a y be a local n a m e for h e r (or h e r daughter?); t h e M y c e n a e a n spelling proves t h a t it is n o t the simple Greek c o m p o u n d it s e e m s since the a b s e n c e of initial d i g a m m a and the vocalism i-pe- b o t h refute any connexion with iyi. In her a s p e c t as t h e g o d d e s s of child-birth she is k n o w n to the K n o s s o s tablets as e-re-u-ti-ja Eleutkia; a g o d d e s s whose cult in Crete is well established in classical times and on sites continuously in use from Minoan times. But even m o r e striking is one of t h e 1955 tablets, which n a m e Potnia five t i m e s :3

pa-ko-we 1202 me-tu-wo-ne-wo

ma-te-re te-i-ja OIL-J-PA 5 ^| * <j 4 It is, like the others, an allocation of oil, in this case p r o b a b l y sphakowen 'scented with sage-apple'.4 T h e first word is o b s c u r e ; to j u d g e by the analogy of t h e o t h e r t a b l e t s it m a y b e a date. But t h e recipient is clear: she is mat{e)rei theiäi. Do we translate 'Divine Mother' or 'Mother Theia'? T h e latter is suggested b y H e s i o d ' s Theia, d a u g h t e r of Gaia and U r a n u s .5 But I suspect that te-i-ja is in

1 Gioita I (1901), p . 27 1.

2 I remain unconvinced by Bennett's suggestion (art. cit. p. 119) that DA = 'households'.

3 Photograph in Amer. Journal, of Arch. LX (1956), plate 46 fig. 18.

4 Other epithets of OIL in this series are ku-pa-ro-we = kupairowen 'with cyperus' and wo-do-we = wordowen = poBóev, cf. Iliad 23.186.

5 Theog. 135, cf. Pind. Isth. 5.1 Mtxxep 'AXioo Ttolucúvoiie ©sia. I am obliged to Professor H. J. Rose for this reference and many other useful comments on tnis article when in draft.

POTNIA I25

the tablets no m o r e than t h e adjective of te-o, and we m i g h t fairly translate ' M o t h e r of the G o d s ' . If so, t h e classical T h e i a is p r o b a b l y no m o r e than a r e m i n i s c e n c e of the old title, now r e g a r d e d as a p r o p e r n a m e . T h o u g h the d o u b t remains, she is a m o t h e r g o d d e s s , a n d quite conceivably Potnia u n d e r a n o t h e r name.

T h i r d l y we m a y look at Pylos U n 2 . It is a list of agricultural p r o d u c e : BARLEY, CYPERUS (?), FLOUR, OLIVES, FIGS, OXEN, SHEEP, PIGS

a n d WINE to read off simply the identified i d e o g r a m s . T h e a b b r e - viation 0 followed b y (j 5 m line 3 m a y p e r h a p s refer to a c o m m o d - ity, not a sum owing; cf. t h e Ma- tablets, where however it is weighed not m e a s u r e d , a n d U n 2 I 9 . T h e list in o t h e r r e s p e c t s r e s e m b l e s t h o s e on o t h e r Un- tablets, one of which, U n 7 l 8 , is a dosmos for P o s e i d o n . U n i 3 8 is qe-te-a^, an enigmatic w o r d which r e c u r s in connexion with Potnia on 1206; U n 4 7 is h e a d e d ro-u-si-jo a-ko-\ro, an a d d r e s s r e p e a t e d on a new OIL tablet, 1220. T h u s it is not unlikely that U n 2 is also a list of offerings. F o r t h e first line V e n t r i s and I1 have p r o p o s e d the reading: Pakiansi mu{i)omenoi epi wanaktei 'on t h e occasion of t h e k i n g ' s initiation at Pakijana.' This involves s u p p o s i n g t h a t t h e M y c e n a e a n s used fiòco in t h e sense of ¡loeco.2 If this is correct, initiation, whatever this m a y m e a n in this context, suggests that Pakijana was the h o m e of a special cult, p e r h a p s even of m y s t e r i e s ; a n d it is w o r t h recalling that m y s t e r i e s survived in Messenia d o w n to classical times, notably at A n d a n i a .

6. a-si-wi-ja

It is t e m p t i n g to conjecture an explanation of this e p i t h e t , applied to Potnia in 1206. It is a p p a r e n t l y t h e feminine of t h e m a n ' s n a m e a-si-zvi-jo,3 a n d is likely to r e p r e s e n t aswios, aswia. O n the analogy of laoç, l'aoç this would a p p e a r in Ionic as "Aaioç (not "Haioç), in A t t i c as "Aatoç (à). This leads at once to H o m e r ' s 'Aoúp év XetjiAvt [Iliad 2.461), w h e r e t h e A n e e d s s o m e such explanation. A metrical l e n g t h e n i n g is u n t h i n k a b l e in a word of this t y p e , with e x p e d i e n t s

1 Documents, p. 221.

2 Other examples where a derivative in -SCD has displaced the simple verb are collected by Schwyzer, Gramm., I. p. 721. Arcadian [loeofrca 'to be initiated' (Schwyzer, Dial. 675.21) is explained as from athematic *¡J.Ú7¡}JLI (like TÎÔ-TJ^I);

but this explanation may perhaps be unnecessary.

3 Knossos DX1469; Pylos Q1285.12, Eq146.11.

s u c h as slv 'Aaúp Xstjicüvt. r e a d y to h a n d . It is less certain if "Aotoç is further to b e c o n n e c t e d with 'Aaia (Ionic 'Aairj, not in H o m e r b u t later always with short A-;1 t h e feminine adjective 'Aaiç in A t t i c t r a g e d y has A.) T h e m a t t e r would b e clinched if we c o u l d a c c e p t F o r r e r ' s e q u a t i o n of 'Aoia with t h e Hittite Assuwa. T h i s has b e e n criticised on t h e g r o u n d s that Assuwa has a m u c h m o r e restricted m e a n i n g ; b u t Mazzari'ni2 revives it with t h e s u g g e s t i o n that the usual s e n s e of 'Aoia is a later extension, a n d it was originally restricted to L y d i a w h e r e t h e "Aaioç Xsifjuúv was l o c a t e d . Matriarchal Lydia would of c o u r s e b e an obvious h o m e for a m o t h e r g o d d e s s .

Lastly we may refer to the archaeological evidence for Myce- naean religion. This s u b j e c t is n o w h a r d to a p p r o a c h owing to t h e a b s e n c e of any clear distinction b e t w e e n M y c e n a e a n (Greek) a n d Minoan (Cretan) religion. I h o p e s o m e o n e will now a t t e m p t a s e p a r a t i o n of t h e s e e l e m e n t s ; so far it has b e e n t h e fashion to r e g a r d M y c e n a e a n religion as an e x t e n s i o n of Minoan. A n d in one r e s p e c t at least I believe this confusion is justified. T h e cult of t h e Mother- G o d d e s s , in h e r m a n y forms, which has b e e n inferred for Minoan C r e t e , s e e m s equally to b e e s t a b l i s h e d on t h e mainland. But for t h e t a b l e t s we m i g h t never have s u s p e c t e d a cult of t h e O l y m p i a n s at all, so p r o m i n e n t are the r e m a i n s s u g g e s t i n g M y c e n a e a n w o r s h i p of a m a t e r n a l deity. M o r e o v e r t h e m y s t e r i e s at Eleusis are d a t e d , b y t r a d i t i o n at least, to M y c e n a e a n t i m e s ;3 a n d a similar antiquity is likely for t h e n u m e r o u s o t h e r sites in G r e e c e w h e r e m y s t e r i e s w e r e c e l e b r a t e d . In t h e course of t i m e Potnia in s o m e of h e r a s p e c t s was p r o b a b l y s y n c r e t i s e d with O l y m p i a n g o d d e s s e s , a n d t h e details of t h e p r o c e s s c a n n o t now b e r e c o v e r e d . It s e e m s however r e a s o n a b l e t o a c c e p t t h e identification p r o p o s e d for Potnia as a w o r k i n g h y p o - thesis until further e v i d e n c e b e c o m e s available.

EXCURSUS: The meaning of te-re-ta

In view of the suggestion of m y s t e r i e s in t h e Pylian k i n g d o m we

1 Professor D. L. Page has kindly drawn my attention to Archilochus fr. 23 Diehl, where the reading of schol. Hi\xr._Med. 708 and Anecd. Par. Cramer ó h' 'AatTjç (u — u —) TE xapxepòc [tTjXoxpócpou is in his opinion more likely to be correct than the usually accepted ó S' AOÎTJÇ (UUU —) xapx. xtX. Mimnermus fr. 12.2 Diehl confirms short the scansion with brief A.

2 Fra Oriente e Occidente, Firenze 1947, p. 47.

3 According to F. Noack, Eleusis, I, p. 14, the presence of the cult at this period cannot be confirmed archaeologically.

POTNIA I27

m u s t re-examine the m e a n i n g of t h e word te-re-ta. T h e Olympian i n s c r i p t i o n1 tells us nothing- b u t that the xeleaxá is distinct from the FÉxaç (private citizen?) and t h e §â{jL0ç. In o r d i n a r y usage the t e r m s xe1eoxr¡c, xe\exr¡c or xsleoxr¡p are c o n n e c t e d with mysteries and are either initiating priests or sometimes the initiated themselves. Is t h e r e a n y clear reason for rejecting this line of a p p r o a c h to the m e a n i n g of t h e Mycenaean term? W e must for t h e m o m e n t ignore c o m p a r a t i v e theories and c o n c e n t r a t e on the internal evidence.

T h e e x a m p l e s of t h e word at Pylos all b e l o n g to the ii-series.

A n o t h e r p r o b a b l e example, the fragment X c l 1*$,pa-ki-ja-ne te-re-\ta, only serves to reinforce the connexion with Pakijana seen in E n 6 o 9 . 2 , w h e r e we are told t h a t t h e r e are I 4 of t h e m . O n l y one is n a m e d (zva-na-ta-jo), but it is possible that t h e y are all to be iden- tified with the holders of ktoinai ktimenai. T h e y are mentioned ( p r o b a b l y in the plural) in t h e b r o k e n h e a d i n g t o E q l 4 6 , which otherwise lists the holdings of individuals. Ec4.Il seems to b e a total of all land held by te-re-ta (at Pakijana?):

ku-su-to-ro-pa% pa-to [ e. g. o-e-ko-si] te-re-ta WHEAT 44

'total of all that the te-re-ta hold'? This e n t r y is followed b y another large figure for the ka-ma-e-we, and t h e e d g e has a b r o k e n e n t r y for t h e te-o-jo do-e-ra. E b i 4 9 merits attention b e c a u s e it p r o b a b l y forms p a r t of t h e same tablet as E b 9 4 0 , t h o u g h it does not join.

T h e c o m p o s i t e text runs:

te-re-tä su-ko-[ (cf. o-pi-su-ko?) o]-pe-ro-qe te-re-ja-e o-u-qe te-re-ja du-wo-u-pi-de [ wo-ze??

H e r e te-re-ta is singular if agreeing with opheldn-que, and the join s e e m s to prove that te-re-ja-e is the infinitive of the verb describing t h e function of t h e te-re-ta. This is a p p a r e n t l y similar in meaning to wo-ze, which it replaces in like formulas.2 W e have been inclined to r e g a r d these as feudal terms, indicating t h e service to b e r e n d e r e d in r e t u r n for t h e holding of land. It is however equally possible to regard t h e m as religious functions to b e performed b y the holders;3

1 Schwyzer, Dial. 409.

3 Bennett, art. cit. p. 126-8.

3 I cannot pretend that this is a common practice in classical times.

Mr. M. I. Finley has kindly drawn my attention to M. Launey, BCH LXI p. 394 on a Thasian inscription IG XII Suppl. 353. Launey suggests a restoration

a n d this will not only allow wo-ze to b e e q u a t e d in s e n s e as well as e t y m o l o g y with péÇei1 b u t will also explain the i n s t r u m e n t a i s e-me, du-wo-u-pi 'with one, with two'. T h e n o u n to b e s u p p l i e d will be 'victims'.

F i n a l l y t h e r e remains the t e x t u p o n which t h e feudal t h e o r y is principally based, E r 3 l 2 . After r e c o r d i n g the temenea of t h e wanax a n d t h e läwägetäs, t h e r e are two further entries. T h e first of these r e c o r d s 30 units of WHEAT as b e l o n g i n g to t h e te-re-ta, who are said in t h e n e x t line to n u m b e r t h r e e . T h e r e is n o t h i n g to indicate the location of this land, t h o u g h royal h o l d i n g s might b e e x p e c t e d to be in t h e vicinity of the Palace. A s we have a l r e a d y seen that Pakijana is in the vicinity of Pylos, it is a possible site for these h o l d i n g s too. Nor is t h e r e any reason to s u p p o s e that t h e o r d e r of social p r e c e d e n c e will b e p r e s e r v e d down to t h e e n d of the tablet, unless at least one of the o t h e r entries b e l o n g s to the s a m e class of titles, te-re-ta m u s t not b e invoked as it is still n o t identified. T h e last e n t r y is wo-ro-ki-jo-ne-jo e-re-mo WHEAT 6, which is certainly n o t a social title. It was explained b y P a l m e r as ' d e v o t e d to cult p u r p o s e s ' . W e can b e m o r e precise: worgioneios is the Mycenaean equivalent of òpfecovocóc ' b e l o n g i n g to t h e ópye&vec,' a religious association. T h u s the s e c o n d two entries m a y b o t h be religious. T h e fact t h a t U n 7 l 8 appears to r e p e a t the s a m e g r o u p s , with E-ke-ra%-wo s u b s t i t u t e d for the wanax and damos for te-rre-ta, hardly helps the feudal t h e o r y , which p r e s u p p o s e s a d i c h o t o m y b e t w e e n da-mo a n d te-re-ta.

W e m u s t however t r y to c h e c k this conclusion against the e v i d e n c e from K n o s s o s . T h e r e are five t a b l e t s p r o b a b l y b e a r i n g the w o r d which can be g r o u p e d t o g e t h e r : Uf839, Uf970, U1980 (restore te-[re-ta), UÏ990 a n d X 1018. In each case a p e r s o n a l n a m e is followed b y a place-name and te-re-ta: w h e r e c o m p l e t e o t h e r words n o t satisfactorily explained appear. It is however clear that t h e Uf- series relate to land in view of t h e w o r d ke-ke-me-na on Uf835,

which would imply that the lessee of a certain piece of land had to provide an ox for sacrifice; he compares Paton and Hicks, Inscriptions of Cos 369, lines 10-12:

fruóvxo) Bè xcù xol {JLeiJuafroujiivot. xòc lspò[c xájxoc xal xò ßaXavstov, êxaaxoç auxcäv êpicp[ov à]%ò 8paxfi.âv Bexaxévxe.

1 The same conclusion for wo-ze is reached by Ruipérez by a totally diffe- rent line of argument: Minos IV (1956), p. 157.

POTNIA I 2 9

UT983, s u p p o r t e d b y the p r o b a b l e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of DA as also c o n n e c t e d with land. T h e fragment B 7036 a d d s no information.

T h e r e is o n l y A m 8 2 6 , which lists m e n of A p t a r a : 45 te-re-ta and 5 c a r p e n t e r s . If te-re-ta are t h e ' b a r o n s ' t h a t P a l m e r suggests, 45 is a large n u m b e r for an o b s c u r e Cretan town. If however we can see in t h e classical t e m p l e of A r t e m i s t h e r e1 t h e s u c c e s s o r of the Minoan xoxvia ÔTjpcov, the p r e s e n c e of a religious association would receive faint confirmation. A l t h o u g h t h e r e is thus n o proof, t h e r e is equally n o t h i n g in t h e K n o s s o s tablets to c o n t r a d i c t a religious m e a n i n g for te-re-ta.

Cambridge

Museum of Classical Archaeology

J O H N C H A D W I C K

1 Inscr. Crei. II. iii. 2.55. Another inscription from Aptara was a dedication to 'EXeófroia BCHlll (1879) p. 436.