Ino-Leukothea

The uncritical excesses of those theorists, chiefly German and some English following them blindly, who discerned ‘faded gods or goddesses’ in most of the leading figures of Greek mythology, has produced a reaction which may be equally uncritical. We ought not to believe in the original divinity of an Agamemnon, an Achilles, or a Diomed. Nevertheless, there is undoubtedly a small group of personages, who may be called hero-gods or heroine-goddesses, whose godhead is the primary fact and whose humanity is secondary. The usual mark of these is that their legend is hieratic wholly, that they have little or no secular character, not to say ‘epic’ or ‘heroic.’ Of these the most prominent and important is Ino-Leukothea; and the interpretation of her character and personality and the problem of her origin are among the difficult tasks of the historian of Greek religion. What has been written hitherto on her cult and legend cannot be regarded as satisfying.