Bendis the Two-Speared Huntress
Thracian · deity · Classical Thrace; cult at Athens/Piraeus from c. 430 429 BCE · deity
Great Thracian goddess. Native theonym attested only in Greek script (Βένδις, var. Μένδις). At Athens syncretized with Artemis, Hekate and Selene but maintained a separate temple and festival, marking her as a distinct foreign goddess. The 'two spears' are her defining attribute.
Domains
- the hunt
- moon and night
Powers
- hunts wielding two spears
Epithets
- δίλογχος
- Βένδις
Relations
- interpretatio: Artemis
Sources
- Plato, Republic 327a-328a
- Britannica, 'Bendis'
- Standard etymological treatments of Bendis (< *bhendh- 'bind'), e.g. summarized in Theoi.com, citing Hellenistic lexica