Antiphanes, in Athenaeus, 313 B (2. The oldest known direct evidence of Hecate's cult comes from Selinunte (near modern-day Trapani in Sicily), where she had a temple in the 6th5th centuries BCE. And when men arm themselves for the battle that destroys men, then the goddess is at hand to give victory and grant glory readily to whom she will. [82] Likewise, shrines to Hecate at three way crossroads were created where food offerings were left at the new Moon to protect those who did so from spirits and other evils. There are also many that are put together as triple Goddesses but as individuals, such as in Egyptian Mythology, Bast (Maiden), Hathor (Mother) and Sekhmet (Crone). I worship Hekate but have not worked with her personally. [29][28] Some hekataia, including a votive sculpture from Attica of the 3rd century BCE, include additional dancing figures identified as the Charites circling the triple Hecate and her central column. Lady of the mountains of the setting sun: Watcher and guardian of the west. Sekhmet was depicted with the body of a woman clothed in red linen, wearing a Uraeus and a sun disc on her lioness head. 264 f., and notes, 275277, ii. [125] Another theory is that Hecate was mainly a household god and humble household worship could have been more pervasive and yet not mentioned as much as temple worship. [8][9] It has been suggested that the use of dogs for digging up mandrake is further corroboration of the association of this plant with Hecate; indeed, since at least as early as the 1st century CE, there are a number of attestations to the apparently widespread practice of using dogs to dig up plants associated with magic.[56]. The triple goddess Mari-Anna-Ishtar was worshiped in Judea at the time of Christ. "[34] The sacrifice of dogs to Hecate is attested for Thrace, Samothrace, Colophon, and Athens. I have worked with Selene and still work with Persephone. Thinking that it is the blood of her enemies, Sekhmet drinks it up, gets intoxicated, and sleeps. Hekate: Her Role and Character in Greek Literature from before the Fifth Century B.C. Francis Douce, Illustrations of Shakspeare, and of Ancient Manners, 1807, p. 235-243. Antoninus Liberalis used a myth to explain this association: Aelian told a different story of a woman transformed into a polecat: Athenaeus of Naucratis, drawing on the etymological speculation of Apollodorus of Athens, notes that the red mullet is sacred to Hecate, "on account of the resemblance of their names; for that the goddess is trimorphos, of a triple form". In the New Kingdom funerary literature, Sekhmet is said to defend Ra from Apophis. 4. Lady of Pestilence / Red Lady: Alignment with the desert, sends plagues to those who angered her. For as many as were born of Earth and Ocean amongst all these she has her due portion. [95] In Thrace she played a role similar to that of lesser-Hermes, namely a ruler of liminal regions, particularly gates, and the wilderness. [10] A 4thcenturyBCE marble relief from Crannon in Thessaly was dedicated by a race-horse owner. "Many have been caught by the obvious resemblance of the Gr. Isis, for instance, was a mother goddess in ancient Egypt. The yew in particular was sacred to Hecate. In addition, we particularly recommend The Book of Goddesses and Heroines. Isis, Egyptian Aset or Eset, one of the most important goddesses of ancient Egypt. Grandmother of the three cousins was Phoebe[123] the ancient Titan goddess whose name was often used for the moon goddess. Triple Goddess: origin stories. A Handbook of Greek Religion. [13] In association with her worship alongside Apollo at Miletus, worshipers used a unique form of offering: they would place stone cubes, often wreathes, known as (gylloi) as protective offerings at the door or gateway. Her cult subsequently spread . Archaeologists have discovered approximately 700 larger-than-life granite statues of Sekhmet dated to the reign of Amenhotep III (18th Dynasty). Looking at Egypt, Isis is the only deity that one can conceive of as being esoteric because she brought back her husband from the dead. Some of the significant ones are listed below: 1. He also performs other secret rites [of Hecate] at four pits, taming the fierceness of the blasts [of the winds], and he is said to chant as well the charms of Medea. [e], As Hecate Phosphorus (the 'star' Venus) she is said to have lit the sky during the Siege of PhilipII in 340BCE, revealing the attack to its inhabitants. [13] However, while Ashtart (Astarte) and Anat were closely associated with each other in Ugarit, in Egyptian sources, and elsewhere,[14][15] there is no evidence for conflation of Athirat and Ashtart, nor is Athirat associated closely with Ashtart and Anat in Ugaritic texts. [71] In Italy, the triple unity of the lunar goddesses Diana (the huntress), Luna (the Moon) and Hecate (the underworld) became a ubiquitous feature in depictions of sacred groves, where Hecate/Trivia marked intersections and crossroads along with other liminal deities. Hecate, goddess accepted at an early date into Greek religion but probably derived from the Carians in southwest Asia Minor. [81] Shrines to Hecate were often placed at doorways to homes, temples, and cities with the belief that it would protect from restless dead and other spirits. In the Greek pantheon, Apollo was the god of medicine and often brought down plagues to punish mankind. Supporters of this etymology suggest that Hecate was originally considered an aspect of Artemis prior to the latter's adoption into the Olympian pantheon. Accessed May 2, 2023. by Patricia Monaghan, which is a very comprehensive encyclopedia of Goddesses; Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses. [79] Mooney however notes that when it comes to the nymph Perse herself, there's no evidence of her actually being a moon goddess on her own right. [141][142] In various later accounts, Hecate was given different parents. [90] This sanctuary was called Hecatesion (Shrine of Hecate). Sekhmet represented the Lower Nile region (north Egypt). Many of her statues can be found in museums and archaeological sites, and her presence testifies to the historical and cultural importance of this goddess. [28] The frog, which was also the symbol of the similarly named Egyptian goddess Heqet,[46] has also become sacred to Hecate in modern pagan literature, possibly due in part to its ability to cross between two elements. From the abundant number of amulets and sculptures of Sekhmet discovered at various archaeological sites, it is evident that the goddess was popular and highly important. Such deities may sometimes be referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune, triadic, or as a trinity. The concept of a triple deity can be traced back to ancient civilizations, such as the Celtic goddess Brighid, who rules over three crucial skills within Celtic society: healing, poetry, and smithcraft. The Triple Goddess - The Bridging Tree 2. https://egyptianmuseum.org/deities-sekhmet, 3. Uraeus - Wikipedia Rohde, i. Pp. Weird Rituals Laid to Primitive Minds, Los Angeles Examiner, 14 October 1929. She is good in the byre with Hermes to increase the stock. So from the beginning she is a nurse of the young, and these are her honours. And the son of Cronos made her a nurse of the young who after that day saw with their eyes the light of all-seeing Dawn. Later poets and historians looked to Diana's identity as a triple goddess to merge her with triads heavenly, earthly, and underworld (cthonic) goddesses. [123], Hesiod's inclusion and praise of Hecate in the Theogony has been troublesome for scholars, in that he seems to hold her in high regard, while the testimony of other writers, and surviving evidence, suggests that this may have been the exception. [32][33], Dogs were closely associated with Hecate in the Classical world. Lady of the flame: Sekhmet is placed as the uraeus (serpent) on Ras brow where she guarded the sun gods head and shot flames at her enemies. doi:10.2307/1087735. The left side of the symbol features a waxing moon, the center features a full moon, while the right side depicts a waning moon. The first literature mentioning Hecate is the Theogony (c. 700 BCE) by Hesiod: And [Asteria] conceived and bore Hecate whom Zeus the son of Cronos honored above all. "[105] A secondary purpose was to purify the household and to atone for bad deeds a household member may have committed that offended Hecate, causing her to withhold her favour from them. [51], Hecate was said to favour offerings of garlic, which was closely associated with her cult. Ions Veronica (1983) Egyptian Mythology, Peter Bedrick Books, 9. She is variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, night, light, magic, protection from witchcraft, the Moon, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, graves, ghosts, necromancy, and sorcery. As a goddess expected to avert harmful or destructive spirits from the house or city over which she stood guard and to protect the individual as she or he passed through dangerous liminal places, Hecate would naturally become known as a goddess who could also refuse to avert the demons, or even drive them on against unfortunate individuals. She travelled a long way, and a long time, from further south in Africa. Sekhmet was worshipped along with Ra at the Heliopolis since the early Old Kingdom. The Byzantines dedicated a statue to her as the "lamp carrier". A medieval commentator has suggested a link connecting the word "jinx" with Hecate: "The Byzantine polymath Michael Psellus [] speaks of a bullroarer, consisting of a golden sphere, decorated throughout with symbols and whirled on an oxhide thong. Each aspect within the Triple Goddess is . [170], As a "goddess of witchcraft", Hecate has been incorporated in various systems of modern witchcraft, Wicca, and neopaganism,[171] in some cases associated with the Wild Hunt of Germanic tradition,[172] in others as part of a reconstruction of specifically Greek polytheism, in English also known as "Hellenismos". How old is the United States of America? 6. [65] Hecate's association with Helios in literary sources and especially in cursing magic has been cited as evidence for her lunar nature, although this evidence is pretty late; no artwork before the Roman period connecting Hecate to the Moon exists. 7000 jars of red beer are spread over the land during the night. Paper 4651. "[135] This appears to refer to a variant of the device mentioned by Psellus.[136]. In the Old Kingdom, the priests of Sekhmet are an organized phyle and from a slightly later date, in its extant copy, the Ebers papyrus attributes to these priests a detailed knowledge of the heart. ), "A top of Hekate is a golden sphere enclosing a lapis lazuli in its middle that is twisted through a cow-hide leather thong and having engraved letters all over it. These statues are rarely discovered in complete form. Of the 200 books available in open source about Egyptian mythology, hardly seven or eight had anything substantial to say about Sekhmet. In early portrayals she is shown as a naked woman standing upon a lion. In two fragments of Aeschylus she appears as a great goddess. [78] Fowler also noted that the pairing (i. e. Helios and Perse) made sense given Hecates association with the Moon. The concept of Athirat, Anat and Ashtart as a trinity and the only prominent goddesses in the entire region (popularized by authors like Tikva Frymer-Kensky) is modern and ignores the large role of other female deities, for example Shapash, in known texts, as well as the fact El appears to be the deity most closely linked to Athirat in primary [61], Cult images and altars of Hecate in her triplicate or trimorphic form were placed at three-way crossroads (though they also appeared before private homes and in front of city gates). In the pyramid texts, Sekhmet is written to be the mother of the kings reborn in the afterlife. Barret Clive (1996) The Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, Diamond Books, 10. Mooney, Carol M., "Hekate: Her Role and Character in Greek Literature from before the Fifth Century B.C." 5. [citation needed], During the Gigantomachy, Hecate fought by the side of the Olympian gods, and slew the giant Clytius using her torches. [Hekate] teaches the, Although usually the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, as in, Magliocco, Sabina. She is mentioned a number of times in the spells of The Book of the Dead as both a creative and destructive force. She was one of the earliest Egyptian deities and was often depicted as a cobra, as she is the serpent goddess. Mary McMahon [10] In what appears to be a 7th-century indication of the survival of cult practices of this general sort, Saint Eligius, in his Sermo warns the sick among his recently converted flock in Flanders against putting "devilish charms at springs or trees or crossroads",[62] and, according to Saint Ouen would urge them "No Christian should make or render any devotion to the deities of the trivium, where three roads meet". [28], By the 1st century CE, Hecate's chthonic and nocturnal character had led to her transformation into a goddess heavily associated with witchcraft, witches, magic, and sorcery. These are the biaiothanatoi, aoroi and ataphoi (cf. Hecate was greatly worshipped in Byzantium. 4060 in. A Holy Trinity in Ancient Egypt - JSTOR Daily The Deipnon consists of three main parts: 1) the meal that was set out at a crossroads, usually in a shrine outside the entryway to the home[106] 2) an expiation sacrifice,[107] and 3) purification of the household.[108]. Chapter in the book The Goddess Hekate: Studies in Ancient Pagan and Christian Philosophy edited by Stephen Ronan. Mastery over the suns power. Hecate - World History Encyclopedia He also symbolized death, resurrection, and the cycle of Nile floods that Egypt relied on for agricultural fertility. "[57] This liminal role is reflected in a number of her cult titles: Apotropaia (that turns away/protects); Enodia (on the way); Propulaia/Propylaia (before the gate); Triodia/Trioditis (who frequents crossroads); Klidouchos (holding the keys), etc. He gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the earth and the unfruitful sea. Known sources do not associate her with fertility or sex, and theories presenting her as a "sacred harlot" are regarded as obsolete in modern scholarship due to lack of evidence. [72] The Romans celebrated enthusiastically the multiple identities of Diana as Hecate, Luna and Trivia. Circle for Hekate: volume 1. 7), dated to the late 3rd or early 4th century CE, Hecate Erschigal is invoked against fear of punishment in the afterlife. EC490 - Y Ganolfan Eifftaidd / Egypt Centre Robert Graves called her by a few By all the operations of the orbs Goddess of Fertility, Rebirth, and Magic In addition to being the fertile wife of Osiris, Isis is honored for her role as the mother of Horus, one of Egypt's most powerful gods. Ishtar Astarte Aphrodite, The Myth of Asherah: Lion Lady and Serpent Goddess, KTU 1.107: A miscellany of incantations against snakebite, A Reassessment of Asherah: With Further Considerations of the Goddess, A Reassessment of Tikva Frymer-Kensky's Asherah, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Qetesh&oldid=1142869786, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles having different image on Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Lion, snake, a bouquet of papyrus or Egyptian lotus, Hathor wig, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 20:11. The dog was Hecate's regular sacrificial animal, and was often eaten in solemn sacrament. For to this day, whenever any one of men on earth offers rich sacrifices and prays for favor according to custom, he calls upon Hecate. While this sculpture has not survived to the present day, numerous later copies are extant. [83], Dogs were sacred to Hecate and associated with roads, domestic spaces, purification, and spirits of the dead. While many researchers favour the idea that she has Anatolian origins, it has been argued that "Hecate must have been a Greek goddess. This aligns with the pyramid texts mentioning that Sekhmet conceived the king. Sekhmet is not even a primordial deity like Chaos, Ananke, or a creator deity like God from the Bible, and yet she has dominion over almost all aspects of human existence. In the 1st century CE, Ovid wrote: "Look at Hecate, standing guard at the crossroads, one face looking in each direction. See Heckenbach, p. 2776 and references. Within the enclosure is a temple; its wooden image is the work of Myron, and it has one face and one body. The cult of Sekhmet declined in the New Kingdom. Adopted by the pharaohs as a symbol of their own unvanquishable heroism in battle, she breathes fire against the kings enemies. Ishtar, Inanna, Persephone, Demeter, Hestia, Astarte, Isis, Kali, Tara, etc are some of the names that pop into the mind when we talk about esoteric goddesses. [8][9], On a stele representing the deity, Qetesh is depicted as a frontal nude (an uncommon motif in Egyptian art, though not exclusively associated with her), wearing a Hathor wig and standing on a lion, between Min and the Canaanite warrior god Resheph. "[167], Shakespeare mentions Hecate both before the end of the 16th century (A Midsummer Night's Dream, 15941596), and just after, in Macbeth (1605): specifically, in the title character's "dagger" soliloquy: "Witchcraft celebrates pale Hecate's offerings"[168] Such things they call charms, whether it is the matter of a spherical object, or a triangular one, or some other shape. An Exciting Provocation: John F. Millers Apollo, Augustus, and the Poets. Vergilius (1959-) 58 (2012): Wycherley, R. (1970). Berg, William, "Hecate: Greek or "Anatolian"? "[37] The association with dogs, particularly female dogs, could be explained by a metamorphosis myth in Lycophron: the friendly looking female dog accompanying Hecate was originally the Trojan Queen Hecuba, who leapt into the sea after the fall of Troy and was transformed by Hecate into her familiar.[38]. You find her in the labyrinthine places of Minoan Crete. Egyptian equivalent: Neith: Statue of Diana-Artemis, fresco from Pompeii, 50-1 BCE. But what we do know is that this fascinating goddess held dominion over contradictory themes: war (and violence and death), plagues (diseases), and healing and medicine. Intrinsically ambivalent and polymorphous, she straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition. [Diviners] spin this sphere and make invocations. To commemorate this timely phenomenon, which was attributed to Hecate, they erected a public statue to that goddess []". He adds that such an instrument is called a iunx (hence "jinx"), but as for the significance says only that it is ineffable and that the ritual is sacred to Hecate. Ankh This ancient Egyptian hieroglyph means life or living. It is speculated that these statues were created to pacify the goddess and please her. Danu - Mythopedia Lucius Apuleius in The Golden Ass (2nd century) equates Juno, Bellona, Hecate and Isis: Some call me Juno, others Bellona of the Battles, and still others Hecate. We have very little information about Sekhmet from historical sources available, at least to the general public. The maiden represents young women, full of potential and life, while the mother symbolizes a fully mature woman. [63], Thanks to her association with boundaries and the liminal spaces between worlds, Hecate is also recognized as a chthonic (underworld) goddess. This one is of stone, while the bronze images opposite, also of Hecate, were made respectively by Polykleitos and his brother Naukydes.[87]. Otherwise, they are typically generic, or Artemis-like. So, then, albeit her mother's only child, she is honored amongst all the deathless gods. [28], Hecate was a popular divinity, and her cult was practiced with many local variations all over Greece and Western Anatolia. [26], Hecate was generally represented as three-formed or triple-bodied, though the earliest known images of the goddess are singular. She was worshipped widely in Lower Egypt as a great Mother Goddess in the Predynastic Period (c. 6000- c. 3150 BCE) and so is among the older deities of Egypt. Maiden, Mother, and Crone: The Wiccan Triple Goddess Neith - Origins, Family, Meaning, Symbols & Powers The Mistress and Lady of the tomb, gracious one, destroyer of rebellion, mighty one of enchantments, 7. [28], Variations in interpretations of Hecate's roles can be traced in classical Athens. [169] Researcher Samuel Fort noted additional parallels, to include the cult's focus on mystic and typically nocturnal rites, its female dominated membership, the sacrifice of other animals (to include horses and mules), a focus on the mystical properties of roads and portals, and an emphasis on death, healing, and resurrection. In the Argolid, near the shrine of the Dioscuri, Pausanias saw the temple of Hecate opposite the sanctuary of Eileithyia; He reported the image to be the work of Scopas, stating further, "This one is of stone, while the bronze images opposite, also of Hecate, were made respectively by Polycleitus and his brother Naucydes, son of Mothon. [173] In Wicca, Hecate has in some cases become identified with the "crone" aspect of the "Triple Goddess".[174]. The goddess had many titles and epithets, often overlapping with other deities. The Triple Goddess is arguably the most important deity in the vast majority of Pagan and Wiccan pantheons. Apollonius of Rhodes, in the Argonautica mentions that Medea was taught by Hecate, "I have mentioned to you before a certain young girl whom Hecate, daughter of Perses, has taught to work in drugs. (2009). It was Alkamenes, in my opinion, who first made three images of Hecate attached to one another [in Athens].[88]. She became the patroness of the Nile Delta and the protector of all of Lower Egypt. The monuments to Hecate in Phrygia and Caria are numerous but of late date. She was a warrior goddess. ", deEste, Sorita. [80], Worship of Hecate existed alongside other deities in major public shrines and temples in antiquity, and she had a significant role as household deity. Though such gifts varied in value and substance, it is nevertheless clear that the kings, chiefs, and Ollam of the Tuatha D Danann all drew their power . Worship (i. Hecate was a powerful goddess of uncertain origin. Here I disclaim all my paternal care" (The Arden Shakespeare, King Lear, Page no.165), In 1929, Lewis Brown, an expert on religious cults, connected the 1920s Blackburn Cult (also known as, "The Cult of the Great Eleven,") with Hecate worship rituals.
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