Opora (mythology)

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This article is about the Greek fertility goddess. For other uses, see Opora.
Opora
Goddess of harvest and autumn
Other names Opore
Greek Ὀπώρα
Abode Earth
Consort Sirius, Trygaeus
Texts Peace

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Opora (Ancient Greek: Ὀπώρα Opṓra "autumn, fruit") is a minor goddess connected to the harvest, especially wine harvest, and the season of autumn. She is a fairly obscure goddess, although she features in a little-known myth centered around her romance with the stellar god Sirius, the Dog Star.[1]

Etymology

The ancient Greek noun Opora referred to the part of the year between the rising of the stars Sirius and Arcturus, that is the end of July, all August and part of September at the end of summer; later it was used for late summer[2] and autumn.[3] In extension of its use for fruit-time it could refer to fruit itself, and figuratively to summer-bloom.[3]

The word apparently derives from the base of ὀψέ meaning "late, after" and ὥρα meaning "hour, time".[4] Robert Beekes suggests the Proto-Indo-European roots *h1opi meaning 'at, on' and *h1os-r/n- meaning 'harvest-time, summer'.[5] It seems to be a contraction of an original form *ὀποσάρα (*op-osára) or *op-ohara, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root *(s)h₁ósr̥ or *h₁ósh₂r, meaning the harvest season.[6][7]

The later Greek word for autumn, φθινόπωρον (phthinópōron), covering September through November, is derived from her name and literally translates to 'end of the opora'.[5]

Mythology

Her parentage is not specified in any surviving text.

Opora accompanies Irene, the goddess of peace and plenty, along with Theoria (who represents festive delegation) in Athenian comedian Aristophanes's comedy Peace;[1] the god of commerce Hermes suggests to the character of Trygaeus, a middle-aged Athenian man who brought about a peaceful end to the Peloponnesian War, to marry Opora, whom he liberated from a celestial prison.[8] Trygaeus's name (Ancient Greek: Τρυγαῖος Trugaîos) seems to derive from the Ancient Greek noun τρύγη (trúgē) which means grain crop, and in particular grape crop, denoting Opora's connection to the wine harvest and viticulture.[9]

Opora has only one myth in whose plot she is central. While on a mission on the earth back when stars still made visits, the dog star Sirius sees Opora and falls madly in love with her. When he is unable to be with her, he starts burning with even greater heat due to his unrequited love.[10] The humans, suffering, appeal to the gods for help. Boreas then, the god of the north wind, sends his sons to hand Opora over to Sirius while he cools down the heat with blasts of cold wind.[1][11] It thus has parallels to the myth of Phaethon and the fiery chariot of his father. Sirius then goes on to glow every summer during harvest time in commemoration of this event and his great love, explaining the heat of the so-called dog days of summer, which was attributed to the star in antiquity.[12]

The story is generally understood to originate from the plot of a now lost play Opora by the Athenian playwright of middle comedy Amphis, and a work also titled Opora by Amphis's contemporary Alexis.[11] This myth is mostly saved on scholia written after their time, and the surviving manuscripts are mostly full of corruptions, errors and transliteration mistakes; it is very likely that those scholiasts are also drawing from another lost source by Eratosthenes, who was probably quoting Alexis.[11]

Iconography

A number of pictorial representations of the goddess Opora have passed down to our times.[1] An ancient floor mosaic discovered in ancient Daphne in modern-day Turkey and now housed in the Baltimore Museum of Art depicts Opora in the company of two more divinities, Agros ("field") and Oinos ("wine") at dinner.[13] Moreover, on two ancient Athenian vases, Opora appears accompanying Dionysus, Dionysus's retinue, and Irene.[14] She is also possibly represented on the reliefs of the temple of Serapis and Isis discovered on the site of the present church of Saint Eleutherios in Athens.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Slater 1969, s.v. ὀπώρα.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Liddell & Scott 1940, s.v. ὀπώρα.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Beekes 2010, s.v. ὀπώρα.
  6. ↑ Schaffner 2001, pp. 451-452.
  7. ↑ Pooth 2018, p. 1.
  8. ↑ Aristophanes, Peace 523-706 ff.
  9. ↑ Liddell & Scott 1940, s.v. τρύγη.
  10. ↑ Schol. latinus Arati p. 78
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Arnott 1996, p. 497 note 1.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Bibliography

  • Aristophanes, Peace, in The Complete Greek Drama, volume 2. translated by Eugene O'Neill, Jr. New York. Random House. 1938. Online text and translation at the Perseus.tufts project.
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  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Online version at Perseus.tufts project.
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