BENDIS (Bevö) and BENDIDIE (Bevööööööööööööööööööööööööööööö). — Bendis is a Thracian goddess, identified by Gregory with Artemis.
Women of Thrace offered her ears of wheat. She also had a cult in Pitthinia, where a month was named after her “Bendidios,” and in Athens, where, unlike other foreign deities, she already seems to have had an official cult in 429–428 B.C. Her sanctuary at the Piraeus, on the hill of Munichia, was built by order of the oracle of Dodona; the Thracian god Deoptes was also venerated there. On reliefs and statuettes, Bendis wears a short tunic covered by an animal skin, a rough cloak, high boots, and a Phrygian cap; in her right hand she holds a patera, in her left a spear.
In Attica, at the Piraeus, the Bendideia were celebrated on the 19th or 20th of the month Thargelion (May): two associations, one Athenian and one Thracian, were in charge of the rites and processed to the sanctuary; in the evening there were torch races on horseback.