Genetyllides
In Greek mythology, the Genetyllides (Ancient Greek: Γενετυλλίδες) were minor goddesses or spirits connected with the childbirth ("of one's birth hour"[1]) and procreation with a sanctuary on Cape Colias. Often depicted as attendants of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, the Genetyllides held a significant, albeit specialized, role in the religious beliefs of ancient Greece.[2][3] The Genetyllides were mostly venerated by women,[2] with men regarding the cult as suspicious ("foreign religion" according to Aristophanes in The Clouds, possibly indicating influence of Astarte).[4] These spirits were symbolizing female sensuality and associated with gluttony, deep kisses, erotic music.[5]
Similar to Eileithyia, Genetyllides received canine sacrifices for easy delivery of a baby,[2][4] an unusual choice of sacrificial animal in ancient Greece.[6] In a singular form, Genetyllis (Ancient Greek: Γενετυλλίς) became one of the names of Aphrodite and, sometimes, associated with Hekate or Artemis.[2][4]
Pausanias (1.1.5[7]) mentions Genetyllides alongside Gennaides (Hadzisteliou-Price suggests other kourotrophoi, Genethliai), different forms of the same group of nymphs associated with birth and offsprings.[8]
Small female figures next to Aphrodite on coins and in visual arts are sometimes interpreted as Genetyllides.[9]
References
[edit]- ↑ Γενετυλλίς. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
- 1 2 3 4 Graf 2006.
- ↑ Leonhard Schmitz 1870.
- 1 2 3 Hadzisteliou-Price 1978, p. 127.
- ↑ Parker 2005, p. 432.
- ↑ Graf 2002, pp. 118–119.
- ↑ Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.1.5
- ↑ Hadzisteliou-Price 1978, p. 126.
- ↑ Frazer 1898, p. 36.
Sources
[edit]- Frazer, J.G. (1898). "Cape Colias". Pausanias's Description of Greece: Commentary on Book 1. Pausanias's Description of Greece. Macmillan and Company, Limited. pp. 35–36. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- Graf, Fritz (2002-01-01). "What is New About Greek Sacrifice?". Kykeon. Brill. pp. 113–125. doi:10.1163/9789004295940_006. ISBN 978-90-04-29594-0. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- Graf, Fritz (2006). "Genetyllis". Brill's New Pauly Online. Brill. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e421540. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- Hadzisteliou-Price, Theodora (1978). Kourotrophos: Cults and Representations of the Greek Nursing Deities. Brill Archive. ISBN 978-90-04-05251-2. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- Parker, Robert (2005-11-25). Polytheism and Society at Athens. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-153452-2. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
Leonhard Schmitz (1870). "Genetyllis". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
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