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Lycosura (Ancient Greek: Λυκόσουρα, romanized: Lykósoura) was a city in the ancient Parrhasia region of south Arcadia said by Pausanias to be the oldest city in the world, although there is no evidence for its existence before the fourth century BCE.
Despoina was worshipped in a sanctuary at Lycosura, west of the town of Megalopolis. Poseidon was the father of Despoina and he was worshipped as Poseidon Hippios (horse). [ 25 ] Although this cult remained regional rather than becoming panhellenic, this is a very important site for the study of ancient mystery religions .
The city of Lycosura is 7 km west of Megalopolis, which was studied extensively in the Summer of 1889, and the turn of the century. The sanctuary of Despoina was recovered, and with it the fragments of Artemis, Anytos, the chest/robe of Despoina.
Kore and Despoina were known together with their mother Demeter as Despoinai, "the Mistresses", or Megalai Theai, "Great Goddesses". [6] Sometimes Demeter's daughters are conflated by ancient and modern writers; [ 7 ] however, Arcadian cults infer that there was a clear a differentiation.
The Lycosoura Artemis is the remnant of a colossal sculpture of Artemis, created in the Hellenistic period and discovered in Lycosura, present day Arcadia, Greece. [1] [2]The bust is an acrolith, a composite of many different materials, and is attributed to the sculptor Damophon, who was prominent in the Peloponnese in the early portion of the 2nd century B.C. [1] [2]
Despoina, along with Demeter, was the primary deity worshipped in Arcadia, [5] and was particularly worshipped at a sanctuary at Lycosura. The Arcadians had their own unique myths, which were mainly centered around Despoina and Demeter. Another important god in Arcadia was Antyos, who was said to be a Titan who raised Despoina. [6]
The megaron of Despoina at Lycosura is quite similar to the Telesterion of Eleusis, [31] and Demeter is united with the god Poseidon, bearing a daughter, the unnamable Despoina (the mistress). [32] In the cave of Amnisos at Crete , the goddess Eileithyia is related with the annual birth of the divine child, and she is connected with Enesidaon ...
The cult of Anytos is prominent in the city of Lycosura, home to the Temple of Despoina, a temple dedicated to the Chthonic pantheon consisting of Artemis, Demeter, and Despoina. [2] Currently housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, the bust of Anytos was discovered in excavations during the Summer of 1889. [2] [3]