Anytus (Titan)
titanOne of the Titans who nursed the secret daughter of Demeter and Poseidon in Arcadia.
The Myth
Anytus was a Titan who, according to Arcadian tradition, raised the mysterious goddess Despoina — the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon whose true name was forbidden to be spoken to the uninitiated. Unlike most Titans who fought against Zeus in the Titanomachy and were hurled into Tartarus, Anytus served a nurturing role, protecting the divine child in the remote mountains of Arcadia. His statue stood beside Despoina in her temple at Lycosura, one of the oldest cities in Greece. Pausanias saw him there in the second century AD, depicted in full armour. This made Anytus exceptional among Titans — he was worshipped rather than feared, honoured as a guardian rather than condemned as a rebel. His cult survived deep into the Roman period, a relic of Arcadia's archaic religious traditions that predated the Olympian order.
Fun Fact
Anytus was one of the only Titans actively worshipped in historical Greece, with a cult statue at Lycosura.
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