La maternité des déesses grecques et les déesses-mères : entre mythe, rite et fantasme

The first part shows how, in the Hesiodic Theogony, the word « mother » is applied to goddesses who construct a specific attachment to their children, above and beyond the genealogical link. The second part considers why at Elis, Athena was called « mother », comparing this situation with Athens. A brief conclusion comes back to the historiographical illusion of a generic « Mothergoddess » in the Greek world.