Learning Epithets 1 - Demeter Achaea
When beginning Hellenism, I was told to look and pray to epithets. I didn’t really understand and I feel like I still don’t, so I am here now to try and learn along with you guys about what each epithet means and how to pray to it. So, for our first installment, I have here the first epithet listed on Theoi.com: Demeter Achaea.
As listed on Theoi.com, Demeter Achaea is describe as the following:
a surname of Demeter by which she was worshipped at Athens by the Gephyraeans who had emigrated thither front Boeotia
I did not really understand any of those words, so I did some digging. I knew Athens, obviously, and the Gephyraeans had to be a group of people, but how was it all connected?
I will say this: I did some research and got a LOT of answers, mostly for things I didn’t ask for. It was all pretty interesting though, and I think Lady Demeter wouldn’t mind so long as I was learning something. First, though, I will warn you that my rambling is pretty entertaining, but if you just want the epithet and how to pray / what to use the epithet for, feel free to scroll to the bottom.
The Research:
So first I wanted to know what Achaea meant. I found out it is a region. I look up the region, and it is located in north Peloponnese, Greece’s southern peninsula. It is a mountainous region with major cities of Patras and Dyme. Patras itself is huge in Greek history, and one of the most important cities behind Athens (seriously, I could write a whole paper on the history of Patras itself). Dyme had Oebotas, the first Achaean to win the Olympic Games, but no one in Achaea celebrated him, so he cursed them to never have another winner. This curse remained until Sostratus of Pellene won, after Achaea built a statue to honor Oebotas in Olympia. It is also a region referenced in the Old Testament.
This is all very interesting, but it really did not answer any of my questions, mostly because it had nothing to do with Boetia, Athens, or Gephyraeans. This led me to research the Gephyraeans, and there is barely anything of note except that they are from Boetia.
Boetia is, of course, another region in Greece, styled as Boeotia. This is the region where Thebes was located. Boeotia is another region where a whole paper could be written about it, as it is the location of many myths and legends, such as the Theban Cycle, the Muses, Dionysus and Semele, and more. However, there is still not a lot on the Gephyraeans.
One thing I could find on Gephyraeans were Harmodius and Aristogeiton, who were lovers and assassins of the tyrant Hipparchus and are known as heroes for Athenian democracy (of course, there are lots of political drama but that is also it’s own page because the story is VERY very interesting). Herodotus mentions that they are Gephyraeans, which are Boetians of Syrian or Phoenician descent. However, Plutarch argues they are otherwise.
So, now we have some answers to our question. About Gephyraeans heading into Athens, I found this quote from Herodotus:
“It was in the reign of this Laodamas, the son of Eteocles, that the Cadmeians were driven by the Argives out of their country, and found a shelter with the Encheleans. The Gephyraeans were left behind, but were later compelled by the Boeotians to withdraw to Athens; and they have certain set forms of worship at Athens, wherein the rest of the Athenians have no part; these, in especial the rites and mysteries of Achaean Demeter, are different from the other worships.” Herod. v. 61
So it seems that the Gephyraeans, descendents of Syrians or Phoenicians, went to Athens and had a unique way of worshipping Lady Demeter. The Athenians had no part in this worship. However, why did they worship Demeter specificially? At first glance, it appears She has no hand in Achaea, but according to one of the myths, she does.
Triptolemus, an Eleusinian prince, was instructed by Demeter to spread agriculture and allowed him the use of her serpent-drawn chariot. This myth is incredibly interesting! For our purposes, Triptolemus went to Patras in Achaea. There He taught Eumelus how to cultivate corn. Eumelus’ son, Antheias, took the dragon chariot and fell to his death. Eumelus named a city, Antheias, after him.
So we have a geographic region, the group of people that used this epithet, and some myths connected to Demeter surrounding it. But as I was researching, I kept thinking, ‘I should probably look up what the word achaea means’. Not the region, just the etymology.
It took a bit of digging, rewriting, and stumbling onto questionable websites. I found a lot of sources for Bible naming websites, saying the origin was Hebrew and one even said African? I think I am safe in saying that these are inaccurate.
Finally, I found a Quora post, and though I would question secondary information, it was the best lead I could find. And in this I found the answer.
The Epithet:
Actually, no one is certain what achaea actually means. It is spelled Αχαΐα and is derived from Αχαιοί (Achaeans), the Ancient Greek tribe that settled in the region. Achaea is used specifically for this and this only. But what does it mean?
According to some, it is derived from the word αχος (achos) which means pain or distress. They were named after Achaeus, the founder of Achaea, who was born in a time of great suffering. Also, as written by Hesichius, Demeter was called Αχαία (achaea) because of her grief of losing Persephone.
In other circles, it is derived from the word αχαιαι (achaiai), which means “surf” and refers to the rocky coastline.
It is also worth noting that when Homer refers to the Greeks, he mostly uses the word “Achaeans”. The word is also older than ΕΛΛΑΣ (hellas), meaning Greece.
According to HellenicGods.org, the epithet Akhaia is used for Demeter’s grief for her daughter, but makes no mention of the Gephyraeans.
Long story short is, who knows? It is more likely the location and is something sacred to the Gephyraeans, but ancient etymology is hard to research since it is lost to time - it is, however, very interesting to look into these things. It’s sort of like connecting a puzzle.
What we do know is that there was worship and even sanctuaries dedicated to Demeter and Persephone in Achaea. All of this comes from Pausanias. He describes a sanctuary in Aegium dedicated to Persephone, and a connection from Zeus Homagyrios to Demeter Panakhaia. Also in Bura, there was a temple and drapery dedicated to Demeter. Additionally, there is a place near Pellene, but I thought it would be best for you to read it from Pausanias himself:
"About sixty stades distant from Pellene is the Mysaion, a sanctuary of Demeter Mysia. It is said that it was founded by Mysios, a man of Argos, who according to Argive tradition gave Demeter a welcome in his home. There is a grove in the Mysaion, containing trees of every kind, and in it rises a copious supply of water from springs. Here they also celebrate a seven days' festival in honor of Demeter. On the third day of the festival the men withdraw from the sanctuary, and the women are left to perform on that night the ritual that custom demands. Not only men are excluded, but even male dogs. On the following day the men come to the sanctuary, and the men and the women laugh and jeer at one another in turn.” Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 27. 9
It is interesting to note that this last one held the Mysia festival, dedicated to Demeter Mysia!
How To Worship:
As it appears that this epithet is specific to a location, there’s probably not much you can do with this specific epithet unless you were:
In this region
Wanting to pay homage to the region/myths
Any other reason because I don’t control your worship, you do
That’s not to say anything bad about this epithet. It’s so interesting to learn about the culture, geography, and history of Ancient Greece. At the very least, I know a lot more now than I did at the beginning of this. Also, now I know more about Lady Demeter and Her connection to locations. Plus, isn’t learning more about Her the whole point?
We could take inspiration from this and make our own epithet about the region we all personally live in. For example (and not to dox myself or anything), I live in the Appalachia region. Appalachia is beautiful and has a long history. We are known for our spooky forests, cryptids, and religion, but I think the presence of mountains, forests, nature, animals, and more is a perfect place for Demeter worship. I think honoring her by connecting with nature and cleaning up the environment is a great place to start.
For you, maybe you live in a city or a desert. Is it not still Earth? You can honor Demeter with the environment around you. Grow a cactus, buy a fake plant, clean up trash, or pour your leftover water on grass or plants. Maybe you will pray to Demeter Achaea, or any other epithet, or one unique to you!
Thanks for reading, and if I got something wrong, feel free to correct me. I’d love to hear what you all have to say!
SOURCES:
Demeter Cults
Demeter Titles and Epithets
HellenicGods.org
Mysia Festival
Triptolemus
Wikipedia: Achaea
Wikipedia: Boeotia
Wikipedia: Gephyrean
Wikipedia: Harmodius and Aristogeiton
Quora Articles