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Bendis
IVANA PETROVIC
Bendis was a Thracian goddess who was equated
with Greek ARTEMIS, HEKATE, or Persephone. In
Greek iconography she resembles Artemis, since
she is represented as a huntress, with hunting
boots, two lances, deerskin, and a Phrygian cap.
She was especially popular at Athens, where her
cult was officially introduced in 430 BCE; how-
ever, it is possible that the goddess was vener-
ated there even before that date (Parker 1996:
172). Bendis had a sanctuary, the Bendideion,
in Piraeus. Several Attic inscriptions testify to
the importance of the cult there, and a great
festival of Bendis on 19/20 Thargelion with
twin processions and a nightly torch-race on
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,
and Sabine R. Huebner, print page 1081.
© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah17072
horseback is described at the beginning of
Plato’s Republic. By the third century BCE,
there was also a sanctuary of Bendis in Athens
itself, and a club of her devotees existed at
Salamis also. Members of the organization of
her worshippers at Athens were called orgeones
and some (or all?) of them were Thracians.
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
Gočeva, Z., and Popov, D. (1986) “Bendis.”
Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae
3.1: 95–7.
Parker, R. (1996) Athenian religion: a history.
Oxford.
Simms, R. R. (1988) “The cult of the Thracian
goddess Bendis in Athens and Attica.” Ancient
World 18: 59–76.