Opora
Goddess of harvest and autumn
Other namesOpore
GreekὈπώρα
AbodeEarth
TextsPeace
ConsortSirius, Trygaeus

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Opora (Ancient Greek: Ὀπώρα, romanized: Opṓra, lit. 'autumn, fruit') is a minor goddess connected to fruit, 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]

A close equivalent in Roman mythology is found in the fertility goddess Pomona.[2]

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[3] and autumn.[4] In extension of its use for fruit-time it could refer to fruit itself, and figuratively to summer-bloom.[4]

The word apparently derives from the base of ὀψέ meaning "late, after" and ὥρα meaning "hour, time".[5] Robert Beekes suggests the Proto-Indo-European roots *h1opi meaning 'at, on' and *h1os-r/n- meaning 'harvest-time, summer'.[6] 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.[7][8]

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'.[6]

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.[9] Trygaeus's name (Ancient Greek: Τρυγαῖος, romanized: 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.[10]

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.[11] 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][12] 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.[13]

The story is generally believed to have originated from the lost play entitled Opora, by the Athenian playwright of Middle Comedy Amphis, and a work of the same name by Amphis's contemporary Alexis.[12] The myth has been transmitted mostly though scholia written after their time, with the surviving manuscripts containing numerous corruptions, errors and transliteration mistakes; it is highly likely that these scholia also drew upon a lost work of Eratosthenes, which probably quoted the play by Alexis.[12]

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.[14] Moreover, on two ancient Athenian vases, Opora appears carrying fruit and accompanying Dionysus, Dionysus's retinue, and Irene.[15][16] 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.[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Käppel, Lutz (2006). "Opora". In Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth (eds.). Brill's New Pauly. Translated by Christine F. Salazar. Kiel: Brill Reference Online. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e832290. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  2. ↑ Metta, Demetra. "Μορφές και Θέματα της Αρχαίας Ελληνικής Μυθολογίας: Αναξαρέτη" [Figures and Themes of Greek Mythology: Anaxarete]. www.greek-language.gr (in Greek). Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  3. ↑ Slater 1969, s.v. ὀπώρα.
  4. 1 2 Liddell & Scott 1940, s.v. ὀπώρα.
  5. ↑ Strong, James (1979). "G3703". Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Beekes 2010, s.v. ὀπώρα.
  7. ↑ Schaffner 2001, pp. 451–452.
  8. ↑ Pooth 2018, p. 1.
  9. ↑ Aristophanes, Peace 523-706 ff.
  10. ↑ Liddell & Scott 1940, s.v. τρύγη.
  11. ↑ Schol. latinus Arati p. 78
  12. 1 2 3 Arnott, William Geoffrey (1955). "A Note on Alexis' Opora". Rheinisches Museum für Philologie. 98 (4): 312–15. JSTOR 41243800. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  13. ↑ Wright, M. Rosemary (September 2012). "A Dictionary of Classical Mythology: III The Constellations of the Southern Sky". mythandreligion.upatras.gr. University of Patras. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  14. ↑ Unknown. Fragment of floor mosaic depicting a Opora, Agros, and Oinos at dinner (Stone, glass, and lime mortar; 240 x 316.2 x 6.4 cm). Baltimore, United States: Baltimore Museum of Art. Object number: 1937.127. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  15. ↑ Arnott 1996, p. 497 note 1.
  16. ↑ Smith 2011, p. 80.
  17. ↑ Patsi-Garin, Emmy (1969). Επίτομο λεξικό Ελληνικής Μυθολογίας [Epitomic Dictionary of Greek Mythology] (in Greek). Athens, Greece: Χάρη Πάτση publications.

Bibliography

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