Search

[German version] Numerous deities were referred to as ‘Mother’. In Greece, the oldest is a Mycenaean ‘Divine Mother’ ( Matere teija, in the dative: PY fr. 1202); the most important are Demeter, Rhea and Gaia, as well as the Lycian Leto and, above all, that goddess who actually was called ‘Mother’ ( Mḗtēr) or ‘Mother of the Gods’ ( Mḗtēr theṓn) and was considered exotic and at the same time very ancient (Cybele). Also well-known are the Sicilian Mothers, who were interpreted as the nurses of Zeus (Diod. Sic. 4,79-80; 5,64-65). In Rome, the cult of the Mat…