ancient Greek religion Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. The application of the modern concept of "religion" to ancient cultures has been ...

and

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

Sosipolis ( el, Σωσίπολις, translation=City savior) was a native god at

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

. His mother was the goddess

Eileithyia Eileithyia or Ilithyiae or Ilithyia (; grc-gre, Εἰλείθυια; (''Eleuthyia'') in Crete, also (''Eleuthia'') or (''Elysia'') in Laconia and Messene, and (''Eleuthō'') in literature)Nilsson Vol I, p. 313 was the Greek goddess of ch ...

. There was a sanctuary of him inside the sanctuary of Eileithyia at

Olympia, Greece Olympia ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ολυμπία ; grc, Ὀλυμπία ), officially Archaia Olympia ( el, label=Modern Greek, Αρχαία Ολυμπία; grc, Ἀρχαία Ὀλυμπία, links=no; "Ancient Olympia"), is a small town in E ...

.Pausanias, Description of Greece, 6.20
/ref> There was also a shrine dedicated to him on the left of the sanctuary of

Tyche Tyche (; Ancient Greek: Τύχη ''Túkhē'', 'Luck', , ; Roman equivalent: Fortuna) was the presiding tutelary deity who governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. In Classical Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Aphrodite a ...

in Elis.Pausanias, Description of Greece, 6.25.4
/ref>

Mythology

According to the legend, which was described by

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC *Pausanias of Sicily, physician of th ...

, the Arcadians had invaded Elis and the Eleans were ready to fight them. Then among the Eleans appeared a woman with a boy at her breast and said that when she had given birth to the child she had a vision in a dream to offer the child as a champion to the Eleans. The commanders of the Eleans believed her and placed the child naked before their ranks. When the Arcadians began the attack, the child turned into a serpent, seeing that the Arcadians fled in dismay and the Eleans pursued them and were victorious. Because of that the Eleans called the boy Sosipolis (meaning ''savior of the city'') because he was the city's savior, and on the spot where he had transformed into a snake they built a sanctuary to him. At the building they also worshiped the goddess Eileithyia because she was the supposed mother of the boy and she brought her son to help them. The tomb of the Arcadians who were killed in the battle was on the hill across the

Cladeus The river Kladeos flows through Olympia, Greece, Olympia in Elis (regional unit), Elis, Southern Greece, and empties into the river Alfeios. As a tributary of the Alfeios, the Kladeos is fed by the Plataneiko, Lagadino, Gani, and Liakoto streams. ...

Cult

The sanctuary of Sosipolis was inside the temple of Eileithyia at Olympia.The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, ELIS Peloponnesos, Greece.
/ref> The building had two parts, the front part was public and was dedicated to the Eileithyia, but in the inner part Sosipolis was worshipped and only the priestess who was responsible for the god could enter. Eleans chose an old priestess for the goddess every year. The priestess was also responsible for Sosipolis. She lived in chastity and had to bring water for the god's bath and setting before him barley cakes kneaded with honey. When she entered the part of the Sosipolis, she had to wrap her head and face in a white veil. Maidens and matrons wait in the sanctuary of Eileithyia chanting a hymn; they burned all manner of incense to the god, but it was not the custom to pour libations of wine. Oaths in which he was called upon were very important. There was also a shrine dedicated to Sosipolis on the left of the sanctuary of Tyche in Elis. The god was painted as a boy, wrapped in a star-spangled robe and in one hand holding the horn of

Amaltheia In Greek mythology, Amalthea or Amaltheia (Ancient Greek: Ἀμάλθεια) is the most-frequently mentioned foster-mother of Zeus. Etymology The name ''Amalthea'', in Greek "tender goddess", is clearly an epithet, signifying the presence of a ...

, according to his appearance in a dream.

References

Bibliography

, ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, MA,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library

External links

{{Greek mythology (deities) Greek gods Shapeshifters in Greek mythology Snake gods Savior gods