Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Soteria ( gr, Σωτηρία) was the goddess or spirit (

daimon Daimon or Daemon ( Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and philosophy. The wor ...

) of safety and salvation, deliverance, and preservation from harm (not to be mistaken for

Eleos In ancient Athens, Eleos (Ancient Greek m.) or Elea was the personification of mercy, clemency, compassion and pity – the counterpart of the Roman goddess Clementia. Pausanias described her as "among all the gods the most useful to human li ...

). Soteria was also an epithet of the goddess

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...

, meaning deliverance and safety. Soteria's male counterpart was the spirit or daimon

Soter Soter derives from the Greek epithet (''sōtēr''), meaning a saviour, a deliverer; initial capitalised ; fully capitalised ; feminine Soteira (Σώτειρα) or sometimes Soteria (Σωτηρία). Soter was used as: * a title of gods: Poseidon ...

. Both

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

and

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

were titled Soter, so either may have been her father; her mother is unknown. She had a sanctuary and a statue made in her honor in the town of

Patrae ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

, which was believed to have been founded by Eurypylos of Thessaly. Various texts mention the creation of her sanctuary, for example: *

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 t ...

, ''Description of Greece'' 7. 24. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue 2nd century AD): " n Aigion in Akhaia (Aegium in Achaea)they also have a sanctuary of Soteria (Safety). Her image may be seen by none but the priests, and the following ritual is performed. They take cakes of the district from the goddess and throw them into the sea, saying that they send them to Arethousa at Syrakousa (Syracuse)." * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 7. 19. 7 & 21. 7: "Eurypylos he hero of the Trojan Waropened the chest ontaining a sacred idol of Dionysos saw the image, and forthwith on seeing it went mad. He continued to be insane for the greater part of the time, with rare lucid intervals ... There is a sanctuary n Patrai in Akhaia (Patrae in Achaea)with an image of stone. It is called the sanctuary of Soteria (Deliverance), and the story is that it was originally founded by Eurypylos on being cured of his madness." * Ovid, Fasti 3. 879 ff (trans. Boyle) (Roman poetry 1st century BC to 1st century AD): "March 30 Comitialis. When the shepherd feeds and pens his kids four more times and the grasslands whiten with four fresh dews, Janus should be worshipped and gentle Concordia (Concord), Salus Romana (Safety of Rome) and the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace)." Soteria was depicted as a woman wearing a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a s ...

crown, a symbol of victory. In

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...

, Soteria is known as Salus (Preservation); however, Salus's domain more heavily featured physical well-being and health rather than security and safety. The Bible's use of Soteria indicates its etymology from Greek mythology, as the word is used to mean "fourfold salvation: saved from the penalty, power, presence and most importantly the pleasure of sin."

Notes

{{Authority control Greek goddesses Personifications in Greek mythology Epithets of Persephone

See also

Notes