In Ancient Greek Religion, Eucleia or Eukleia ()LSJ, s.v. εὔκλεια. was the name of a goddess and epithet of Artemis. The exact relationship between the two is unclear.Bloch, s.v. Euclea; Kossatz-Deissmann, s.v. Eukleia; Smith, W., s.v. Eucleia; RE, s.v. Eukleia 1. The month name Eucleios derives from the goddess's name.
Goddess There is no mention of Eucleia in Hesiod's Theogony, and no early genealogy is known for the goddess. However, a fragment of Euripides suggests that as a personified abstraction Eucleia was, by the fifth century BC at least, considered to be the daughter of another personified abstraction Ponos (Toil).Smith, A. C. 2011, p. 71; Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 48; Euripides fr. 474 (Collard and Cropp p. 562}: "Toil [πόνος], as they say, is the father of fame [εὔχλεια].
In Athens, Eucleia was a personified abstraction, representing good reputation and glory.Smith, W., s.v. Eucleia; LSJ, s.v. εὔκλεια. She shared a common Athenian sanctuary and priest with another personified abstraction Eunomia (Good Order).Nilson 1906, p. 237; RE; LSJ, s.v. εὐνομία. For their common sanctuary ("ἱερὸν Εὐκλείας καὶ Εὐνομίας"), see IG II2 1035.53 [= Kirchner 1913, p. 468, l. 53], SEG 26:121.53, for their common priest ("ἱερέα Εὐκλείας καὶ Εὐνομίας"), see IG II2 3738.2–3 [= Kirchner 1935, p. 172 = IG III 738 (Dittenberger 1878, p. 156)], 4193A.13–14 [= Kirchner 1935, p. 235 = IG III 623 (Dittenberger 1878, p. 129)], IG II2 5059 [= Kirchner 1935, p. 334 = IG III. 277 (Dittenberger 1878, p. 81)]. Their common priest also served as the cosmetes, the official who was responsible for the training of Athens' young military cadets, the ephebes.Kuhn, p.74; Camponetti, par. 39; Hurschmann, s.v. Kosmetes; Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution 42.2; IG II2 3738.2–3 [= Kirchner 1935, p. 172 = IG III 738 (Dittenberger 1878, p. 156)]. Roland Hampe has argued that the cosmetes was probably also responsible for moral supervision of the Athenian young women.Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 49, citing Hampe, p. 111. Kossatz-Deissmann, citing Hampe, p. 114, associates Eucleia (and Eunomia) with the political values of the aristocratic Dorian states, Athenian allies during the Greco-Persian Wars, and later during the Peloponnesian War when alliances had shifted, Eucleia became a goddess of the Athenian ephebes. The geographer Pausanias reports that a sanctuary of Eucleia (with no mention of Eunomia) was set up in or near the Athenian market as a thank-offering for the victory at Marathon (490 BC).Smith, A. C. 2011, p. 71; Palagia, 94; Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 49; RE, s.v. Eukleia 1; Pausanias, 1.14.5. The Greek lyric poet Bacchylides, in Ode 13 (c. 485-483 BC),Campbell, p. 5. also associates Eucleia with Eunomia on the island of Aegina, as one of the protectors of the state (polis), saying that Arete (Excellence) "guides the state with garland-loving Eucleia, and sound-minded Eunomia".Bacchylides, 13.183–189. A reserved seat inscription for Eucleia and Eunomia's common priest at Athen's Theater of Dionysus, attests to their cult association during the Roman imperial period.Smith, A. C. 2011, p. 74; Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 49; IG II2 5059 [= Kirchner 1935, p. 334 = IG III. 277 (Dittenberger 1878, p. 81)].
The name "Eucleia", in reference to a goddess, was widespread.Nilson 1906, pp. 237–238; Nilsson 1967, pp. 493–494; PHI Greek Inscriptions, Εὐκλείας. In addition to the Athenian personified abstraction, there are also references to a goddess Eucleia in Boetia, Locris,Plutarch is the only source for the goddess being worshipped in Locris, see Schachter 1981, p. 106 n. 1; Bloch, s.v. Euclea. Corinth, and Delphi.Nilsson 1906, p. 237. According to Plutarch, although Eucleia was generally regarded as the same as Artemis, others said she was a daughter of Heracles and Myrto, and that she died a virgin and was worshipped among the Boeotians and the Locrians:Bloch, s.v. Euclea; Smith, W., s.v. Eucleia; Plutarch, Aristides 20.6.
Eucleia religious festivals were celebrated in Corinth, and Delphi.Bloch, s.v. Euclea; LSJ, s.v. εὔκλεια. The Corinthian festival was multi-day and hence of some importance.Nilsson 1906, p. 238. According to Xenophon, a "sacrilegious" mass murder took place in the Corinthian market place on "the last day" of the Eucleia festival.Nilsson 1906, p. 238; Xenophon, Hellenica 4.4.2. The Eucleia at Delphi was an important festival for the Labyads who offered sacrifices at the festival for newlyweds and newborns that were being initiated into the family.Nilsson 1906, pp. 237–238; RE, s.v. Eukleia 1. From the festival name comes Eucleios, the name of a month for several, particularly Doric, communities, such as Corfu, Astypalaia, Byzantium, and Taormina.Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 49; Nilsson 1967, pp. 493–494 n. 11; Nilsson 1906, p. 237; RE, s.v. Eukleios 2; LSJ, s.v. εὔκλεια. For Corfu, see PHI IG IX,1 694.51, 57, 59 [= Dittenberger 1897, p. 154, ll. 51, 57, 59]. In Paros and Epiros, military generals (stratêgoi) offered dedications to Eucleia along with Aphrodite, Zeus Aphrodisios, Hermes, and Artemis.Budin 2010, p. 85.
The connection between the Eucleia paired with Eunomia at Athens, and the Eucleia of Boetia and elsewhere is unclear. Martin P. Nilsson saw little connection between what he calls this Locrian-Boeotian-Corinthian wedding goddess (Hochzeitsgöttin), and the Eucleia at Athens, other than a shared name.Nilsson 1906, p. 237. That the temple of Eucleia at Athens was set up as a thank-offering, "indicates a different sort of cult" than the one in Boeotia.Palagia, p. 94.
Epithet of Artemis The name Eucleia was also used as an epithet and cult name of Artemis.Bloch, s.v. Euclea. Which of the above mentions of a goddess Eucleia are meant as references to Artemis, rather than an independent goddess, as well as, whether Eucleia was originally an epithet of Artemis who became an independent goddess, or an independent goddess who became equated with Artemis is unclear.Bloch, s.v. Euclea; Schachter 1981, p. 106 with n. 2.
At the time Plutarch is writing (c. 100 AD), he can say that "Eucleia is regarded by most as Artemis".Plutarch, Aristides 20.6. However the association of Artemis with the name Eucleia occurs as early as Sophocles's Oedipus Rex (c. 429 BC), where the chorus calls Artemis "eucleia":
That an Athenian playwright can make such an association, and expect to be understood, provides evidence of the antiquity of the identification and the general spread of the cult.Braund, p. 184; Nilsson 1906, p. 237.
Apparently the cult of Eucleia Artemis was particularly popular in Boetia.Bloch, s.v. Euclea. Both Plutarch and Pausanias mention cult sites of "Eucleia Artemis" located in Boetia.Schachter 1981, 106, which notes that both Plutarch and Pausanias "place the epithet first before Artemis, which would suggest that the independent nature of Eukleia was fairly strong". According to Pausanias, there was a temple of Eucleia Artemis at Thebes, which had a cult statue by the fourth-century BC sculptor Skopas,Paglia, p. 94; Schachter 1981, 104; Pausanias, 9.17.1–2. while according to Plutarch there was a sanctuary of Eucleia Artemis at Boeotian Plataea.Schachter 1981, 102; Plutarch, Aristides 20.5.
Sophocles has Eucleia Artemis "seated on her round throne" in Thebes' market-place (agora), where Pausanias says her temple was located,RE, s.v. Eukleia 1; Pausanias, 9.17.2, which says an image of Hermes Agoraeus (Hermes of the Agora) stood near the temple. and apparently it was common throughout Boetia to locate her cult sites in the city market. Schachter 2015, s.v. Boeotia, cults of; Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 49. According to Plutarch, Eucleia Artemis "has an altar and an image built in every market place" in Boetia (and Locris).Plutarch, Aristides 20.5–6. Corinth also apparently held its Eucleia festival in its market place (from Xenophon, see above) where her cult site would then also have been located.Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 49; Nilsson 1906, p. 238; RE, s.v. Eukleia 1.
The only known cult customs are sacrifices involving marriage and childbirth. According to Plutarch, couples made offerings to Eucleia before a wedding,Plutarch, Aristides 20.6. and according to the Labyad inscription,Schwyzer 323 (pp. 162–165) [= Dittenberger 438 (pp. 25–37) 438 = SIG2 438 = GDI 2561]. the Labyads sacrificed to her for newlyweds and newborns.Nillson 1906, p. 237; Schwyzer 323B l. 2 (p. 163); Dittenberger 438b l. 65 (p. 29). Braund, p. 185, sees evidence suggesting that the audience for Euripides's Hippolytus was "expected to be aware not only of the cult title of Artemis Eukleia but also of the practice of her cult" related to "prospective brides and bridegrooms". There also seems to have been a tradition of honoring local heroes by burying them in the sanctuary of Eucleia Artemis.Schachter 1981, p. 104; RE, s.v. Eukleia 1. According to Plutarch, Aristides 20.5, Euchidas, was buried in the sanctuary at Plataea, while according to Pausanias, 9.17.1, Androcleia and Alcis, daughters of Antipoenus were buried in the sanctuary at Thebes. Cults of Eucleia Artemis have been assumed wherever Eucleia festivals were celebrated, or the month name Eucleios was in use.RE, s.v. Eukleia 1.
There are similarities between Artemis and the Eucleia of Boetia and elsewhere. Both are associated with the protection of the family, as well as the state.Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 49. Like Eucleia, Artemis was associated with childbirth and the care of the young,Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 49; Nilsson 1967, p. 494, which notes that at Athens young girls, called arktoi (bears), were appointed to the service of Artemis, see LSJ, s.v. ἄρκτος. For Artemis' association with childbirth, see Budin 2015, pp. 97–106. and there may also have been cult customs related to marriage and childbirth for Artemis similar to those mentioned above for Eucleia.Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 49 (citing Hampe, p. 114, Nilsson 2006, p. 237); Nilsson 1906, p. 237, which says, without citing any sources, that it's known ("ist bekannt") that Artemis very often received similar sacrifices to those which Plutarch mentions Eucleia received. And like Eucleia, who according to the Bacchylides quote above, was a protector of the state, so too Artemis Agoraea.Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 49; For Artemis associated with civic life, see Simon, pp. 172–174. Scholars have suggested that such similarities could account for the identification of the two.Kossatz-Deissmann, p. 49 (citing Hampe, p. 114, Nilsson 2006, p. 237); Nilsson 1906, p. 237.
According to Martin P. Nilsson, this wedding goddess Eucleia ought to be regarded as an epithet of Artemis which eventually became an independent goddess.Nilsson 1967, p. 494. However, Roland Hampe saw Eucleia as originally an independent goddess who eventually became identified with Artemis. Bloch, s.v. Euclea (citing Hampe 1955).
Sanctuary at Aegae
There was a sanctuary of Eucleia at Aigai (Aegae), the ancient capital of Macedonia (located at modern Vergina).Drougou 2006, s.v. Vergina (CT); Drougou 2011, pp. 245, 247, 249, 252. The sanctuary consisted of a 4th-century BC Doric temple, a small Hellenistic era temple, and two stoas.Palagia, p. 90. It was located in a public area of the ancient city, just to the north of the palace and theater, presumed to be the city's agora.Kyriakou, pp. 252–253; Drougou 2006, s.v. Vergina (CT); Drougou 2011, 249. In the vicinity of the sanctuary, two marble statue bases have been found, which have inscriptions that indicate they supported dedicatory statues of Eucleia, one perhaps life-size or larger, the other smaller than life-size. The statues were dedications to the goddess set up by Eurydice, paternal grandmother of Alexander the Great.Palagia, p. 94; Saatsoglou-Paliadeli, pp. 277–278. In the area surrounding the sanctuary, three burials of significant people, one of whom was crowned with a golden oak leaf wreathe, have been discovered.Kyriakou 2014.
Iconography