πότνια
potnia
mistress, queen
Appears 69 times across Homer's epics.
Frequency by work
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Dictionary (LSJ)
πότνια, ἡ, poet.title of honour, used chiefly in addressing females, whether goddesses or women: 1. as Subst., = δέσποινα (cf. ap. Lex.), mistress, queen (v. sub fin.), πότνιαν ἁγνήν h.Cer. 203: mostly c. gen., πότνια θηρῶν (nom.) queen of wild beasts, of Artemis, Il. 21.470; πότνια βελέων P. 4.213; τὰν ἐρώτων πότνιαν, of Aphrodite, Fr. 781.16 (lyr.); π. λαῶν, τοξοφόρων, 112, Fr.anon. 338: without a gen., π. Αὔως 153; πότνιʼ Ἐρινύς Th. 887 (lyr.), Eu. 951 (anap.); πότνιαν ἐξαπαφὼν ἐμάν Ion 704 (lyr.); [Ἱστίην] πότνιαν h.Ven. 24; ναὶ τὰν πότνιαν 15.14: in voc., ὦ πότνιʼ Ἥρα Th. 152 (lyr.); ὦ πότνια (sc. Ἀθηναία) Eq. 1170, al.; ὦ πότνιʼ IT 533, Pax 445; addressed to a mistress, AP 5.269 (). 2. in pl. of the Eumenides, ὦ πότνιαι δεινῶπες OC 84; τὸ τῶν ποτνιέων ἱρόν 9.97; of Demeter and Kore, OC 1050 (lyr.), Th. 1149 (lyr.); θεσμοφόρους ἁγνὰς π. Inscr.Prien. 196.3. 3. as Adj., revered, august, in of Hebe, Enyo, Calypso, Circe, Il. 4.2, 5.592, Od. 1.14, 8.448; most freq. of Hera, Il. 1.551, al., cf. Supp. 6.2; in of Hera, Tethys, and Peitho, Th. 11, 368, Op. 73; Τριτογένεια Th. 926; Νίκη Bacis ap. 8.77, cf. B. II.5; π. μήτηρ Il. 1.357, al., Od. 6.30, al.; esp. in invocation, π. γῆ Epigr. 7.1; ὦ π. χθών Ch. 722 (anap.), Hec. 70 (anap.); μᾶτερ π., addressed to Earth, Ph. 395 (lyr.) (also of a bird, 4.24); π. νύξ Or. 174 (lyr.); ὦ π. λήθη τῶν κακῶν ib.213; Ἔνοσι π. Ba. 585 (lyr.); ὦ μεγάλα Θέμι καὶ π. Ἄρτεμι Med. 160 (anap.); ὦ π. αἰδώς IA 821; ὦ π. μοῖρα καὶ τύχη ib.1136: the phrase π. συκῆ is used by Rh. 1408a16 as a parody of Cleophonʼs style.—Mostly used in voc. [The first syll. is short in Th. 152, Ch. 722, Med. 160, Ion 873, al., l. c., but elsewh. long, cf. πότμος: the final syll. always short in nom., voc., and acc.sg.]
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