Her home is Arcadia, a pastoral idyllic land of cypress and sunshine. Her father Poseidon, is lord of groundwater, earthquakes and horses. He transforms into a stallion to pursue the agricultural goddess Demeter.
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In mare form, she mates with Poseidon and gives birth to two horse-children. One is Arion, a black-maned hero horse of legend. The other is Despoina. In some versions Demeter didn't mate willingly thus is given the epithet 'Erinys'.
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Despoina is born in equine form. She can manifest as a mare, woman, or woman with mare's head. She's among the early animal-headed deities of Eastern Mediterranean culture. In Arcadia she's a goddess of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
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Her real name isn't Despoina, which translates to "Mistress of the House" or palace, and applies to other goddesses too. Only members of her cult know her real name. With the dissolution of the cult, it remains a mystery today.
As in other ancient pantheons the deities arise from nature and natural phenomena. The first indication of active god worship comes from c. 4100 BCE.
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The forces of nature evolve into nymphs, who become associated with certain elements, such as the spirits of trees and water nymphs, similar to the Germanic nixies. Gods take hybrid human forms with heads, tails or other features of animals.
The later Minotaur identifies with these primal hybrid deities. Some of the early powers prevail into the Greek classical age (5th - 3rd centuries BCE).
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They include the pastoral goat god Pan, early Dionysos and the Silenoi, elderdly satyrs in his entourage. The two greatest Arcadian goddesses, Demeter and Despoina relate to springs and animals.
They're associated with the goddess Artemis (Potnia Theron: "Mistress of the Animals"), the first nymph. Artemis evolves into goddess of the hunt, wild animals, nature, childbirth and child care. She protects the young. Later, Artemis is equated with the Roman Diana.
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Despoina's center of worship is Lycosura, a sanctuary in southern Arcadia. Her father is named as Poseidon Hippios, his horse form. Her mother Demeter, who mated with Poseidon as a mare, is worshipped after Despoina.
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The Eleusinian Mysteries is an agrarian cult built around the cycle of life / death / rebirth. It's based on an older, pre-Greek cult. The pre-Greek Eleusis may relate to Elysium and the goddess Eileithyia. Eileithyia is equated with a Minoan goddess and a yet earlier Neolithic entity.
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The sanctuary holds festivities twice a year. Initiates of the Eleusinian Mysteries are chosen in the spring months to enter the Lesser Mysteries. In the autumn months they may be brought into the inner sanctum of the Greater Mysteries.
This approximates the time the later Persephone, another daughter of Demeter, spends in the Underworld with the later Hades. The god Hades appears as a prenom in the Iliad (c. 8th century BCE) and in popular literature c. 5th century BCE.
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The myths of Arcadia may go back to the first Greek-speaking people, who arrive from the north during the Bronze Age. Goddesses Demeter and Despoina are linked to fresh water, water sources and springs.
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