Cotyttia (Greek: Κοτύττια, Kotuttiā) was an orgiastic, nocturnal religious festival of ancient Greece and Thrace in celebration of Kotys, the goddess of sex, considered an aspect of Persephone.
Celebration
Cotyttia originated with the Edones as a celebration of the rape of Persephone. Throughout Thrace it was celebrated secretly in the hills at night, and was notorious for its obscenity and insobriety.
Through influence of trade and commerce, the Edonian form of the festival spread to Athens, Corinth, and Chios, where its mark became so pronounced that "companion of Cotytto" became synonymous with "slut".
In Sicily the rites of Cotyttia were much more mundane, celebrating the waxing aspect of Persephone.
References
- ^ Simpson, D. P. (1968). Cassell's Latin Dictionary. U.S.A.: Macmillan Publishing Co. p. 156. ISBN 0-02-522570-7.
- ^ Bell, John (2003). Bell's New Pantheon or Historical Dictionary of the Gods, Demi Gods, Heroes. Kessinger Publishing. p. 156. ISBN 0-7661-7834-X.
- ^ Peck, Harry Thurston (1897). Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities. New York: Harper & Brothers Pub. pp. 421–422.
- Verity, A. Wilson (1891). Milton's Arcades and Comus. New York: Macmillan and Co. p. 94.
- Kennedy, Charles Rann (1856). The Orations of Demosthenes Against Leptines, Midias, Androtian, and Aristocrates. London: Henry G. Bohn. p. 276.
- ^ Gow, James (1895). Q.horati Flacci Epodon liber. Cambridge: J. and C. F. Clay. p. 52.
- ^ "Kotys". Theoi Greek Mythology. 2008. Retrieved Feb 4, 2009.