Category Archives: Fertility
Mistletoe
Other Names: All-Heal, Birdlime, Devil’s Fuge, Donnerbesen, Druid’s Herb, Golden Bough, Herbe de la Croix, Holy Wood, Lignum Sanctae Crucis, Misseltoe, Mistillteinn, Mystyldyne, Thunderbesem, Witches’ Broom, Wood of the Cross,
Attributes
Animal: Thrush
Deity: Apollo, Balder, Cerridwen, Freya, Frigga, Odin, Taranis, Thor, Venus
Element: Air
Gender: Masculine
Planet: Sun
Rune: Ing
Sphere of Influence: Defense, Dreams, Exorcism, Fertility, Health, Hunting, Invisibility, Locks, Love, and Protection
Symbols: Friendship, Peace
Victorian Language of Flowers: “I surmount difficulties, I send you a thousand kisses.”
Zodiac: Leo
What Is It?
Mistletoe is the common name for plant that is parasitic (hemiparasite) in that it grows by attaching itself to the branches of a tree or shrub, taking water and nutrients from the host plant. The mistletoe species, Viscum album is the one referred to in folklore is that is native to Great Britain and most of Europe. It is characterized by having a smooth-edged, oval shaped evergreen leaves set in pairs along the stem and white berries that are known to be poisonous.
There are a variety of other species of mistletoe plants found in other countries of Europe such as Spain and Portugal and on other continents. American Mistletoe is also known as False Mistletoe as the homeopathic remedies and uses are different from the European Mistletoe. Over time, the term mistletoe has come to include other species of parasitic plants. Even plants get parasites…
Despite mistletoe’s parasitic nature, it does have an ecological benefit with being a keystone species in that it provides food for a variety of animals that feed on it as well as providing nesting material for various birds.
There used to be all sorts of folkloric beliefs about how mistletoe would come to grow on various shrubs and trees. By the sixteenth, botanists had it figured out that seeds were passed by the digestive tracts of birds who fed on mistletoe or by the birds rubbing their bills on trees to get rid of the sticky seeds. An early reference to this is in 1532, an Herbal book by Turner.
What’s In A Name
One etymology for mistletoe that seems fairly accurate are the Anglo-Saxon words for “mistel” meaning “dung” and “tan” meaning “twig.” Making the meaning of mistletoe as “dung-on-a-twig.” Which makes sense, people observed that mistletoe grew wherever birds roosted and thus did their business.
The Latin word “viscusas” and the Greek word “ixias” both refer to the white coloration of mistletoe berries and being thought of to resemble sperm. The same words “visand ischu” mean “strength” In the Greek and Roman mindsets, sperm was connected to strength and vitality and thus to fertility for life springing seemingly out of nowhere. Mistletoe berries harvested from Oak trees were believed to have regenerative powers.
Christmas Folklore
Mistletoe is a plant strongly associated with Christmas, Yule and other Winter Celebrations where it is used in decorations for its evergreen leaves that symbolize the promised return of spring.
Hanging Mistletoe – Anyone standing beneath the mistletoe can expect to be kissed. This probably originates in Druidic beliefs where mistletoe is strongly connected with fertility as the white berries of the mistletoe resembled semen. Now, proper etiquette says that when someone is kissed beneath the mistletoe, a berry needs to be removed until all have been plucked, at which point, there are no more kisses.
One tradition holds that if any unmarried woman went unkissed after the hanging of the mistletoe, they would not be able to marry for a year.
British Folklore
British farmers would feed a bough of mistletoe to their livestock on January 1st, believing it would ward off any bad luck for the coming year. Alternatively, a farmer feeding mistletoe to the first cow calving in the New Year was what brought good luck.
In some regions of Britain, mistletoe would be burned on the twelfth night after Christmas to ensure any boys or girls who didn’t get kissed could still marry.
Celtic Druidic Mythology & Traditions
In the Celtic language, the name for mistletoe translates to “All-Heal” as they believed this plant to have healing powers that could cure a number of ailments and held the soul of the host tree. By Mistletoe was held the chief of the Druid’s sacred seven herbs. The other sacred plants were: vervain, henbane, primrose, pulsatilla, clover and wolf’s bane.
The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is attributed to the Druids who held the plant as being sacred. It held a magical virtue and served as a remedy to protect against evil. Mistletoe found growing on Oaks were especially sacred. Ovid’s writings mention how Druids would dance around oak trees with mistletoe growing on them. If mistletoe were to fall to the ground without being cut, it was considered an ill omen.
In Between – Seen as a tree that was not a tree. One of the things making mistletoe sacred was its seeming ability to spring forth out of nowhere. It represented the “in between” or a gateway to other worlds and spirit.
Harvesting – Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, circa 77 C.E. notes how the Druids revered the mistletoe. Pliny goes on to explain how white-clad Druids would use a golden sickle when harvesting mistletoe; taking great care to make sure that none hit the ground, believing that the plant would lose its potency and sacred powers. The sacrifice of two white bulls would follow. Pliny’s accounts are the most well-known documentation of Druid beliefs regarding the sacredness of mistletoe. Either the Midsummer or the Winter Solstice were the times to harvest and collect mistletoe. Better when done so on the sixth day after a waning moon.
Oak King & Holly King – This is a particularly old folkloric belief. With the Oak King and Holly King being personifications for the cycle of the year. Mistletoe berries found on an Oak tree were thought to be representative of the Oak King’s semen. So when the Oak King’s power waned and gave way to the Holly King, the harvesting of mistletoe and it’s berries off of Oak trees was symbolic of emasculating the Oak King. Hence, why two bulls would be sacrificed, to compensate the Oak King.
The white berries of mistletoe would be made into fertility potions as they were thought to be regenerative as on the Winter Solstice, the Oak King would be reborn, gaining power again as the new year progressed.
Fire & Lightning – It was thought that mistletoe would grow on an Oak tree that had been struck by lightning. For this, mistletoe was believed to be able to stop fires.
French Folklore
French farmers would burn mistletoe in their fields in order to have a successful harvest with the coming year.
Maidens would place a sprig of mistletoe beneath their pillows so they could dream of their future husband.
Herbe de la Croix – In Brittany, there is a legend how the cross that Jesus is to have been hung on was made from the wood of mistletoe. After Christ’s death, mistletoe is said to have been cursed or degraded to become a parasitic plant. Now days, thanks to 16th century Botanists discoveries, it’s better understood how the seeds of mistletoe or spread.
Greek Mythology
Immortality – Asclepius, the son of Apollo and god of medicine was greatly renowned for his healing skills to the degree that he could even bring people back from the dead. This knowledge of healing came about after Glaucus, the son of King Minos of Crete had fallen into a jar of honey and drowned. Asclepius had been called onto the scene and while there, saw a snake slithering towards Glaucus’ body. Asclepius killed the snake and then saw another snake come in and place an herb on the body of the first snake, bringing it back to life. After witnessing this, Asclepius proceeded to take the same herb and place it on Glaucus’ body and bring him back to life.
This herb is said to have been mistletoe. Now armed with this knowledge, Asclepius brought Glaucus back to life. Later, he would bring Thesues’ son, Hippolytus after the king’s son had been thrown from his chariot.
This angered Hades enough that he complained to Zeus that humans would become immortal and that there wouldn’t be anyone entering the Underworld. To prevent people from becoming immortal, Zeus agreed to kill Asclepius, doing so with a lightning bolt. Later, Zeus placed Asclepius’ image up into the heavens to become the constellation of Ophiuchus in honor and memory.
Roman Mythology
Golden Bough or Mistletoe is the plant Aeneas uses to enter the Underworld to Hades’ realm.
Saturnalia – Many traditions regarding mistletoe and the Christmas traditions are believed to trace their origins to this ancient Roman festival once held on December 17th of the old Julian calendar.
Norse Mythology
The Death Of Balder
This is one of the bigger, more well-known Norse stories. Balder’s mother Frigg, the goddess of Love had received a prophesy concerning Balder’s death, who was the most beloved of all the gods. Wishing to try and avoid this fate, Frigg got an oath from all living things that they wouldn’t harm her son. In her haste to do so, Frigg overlooked the mistletoe, believing it to be too small and inconsequential.
Leave it to Loki to learn of this oversight and to test the validity of the prophesy. Depending on the source, Loki either makes an arrow or a spear out of mistletoe and hands it off to the blind god Hod, instructing him to aim it at Balder. This act doesn’t seem so unusual when taken into account that many of the other gods were taking aim at Balder to test his invulnerability.
Hod then, unknowingly of Loki’s true intent, fires the mistletoe weapon at Balder and impales the god who soon dies. Frigg is grief stricken and Hermod rides off on Sleipnir down to the Underworld to plead for Balder’s release from Hel, how everyone loves him. The Underworld goddess replies that if this is so, then every being in the living world will weep for the slain god. If everyone does weep, then Hel will release her hold on Balder and allow him to return.
Hermod returns with the news and every creature on the earth cries for Balder. All, that is except for an old giantess by the name of Tokk (or Þökk, meaning “Thanks,”) she was most certainly and likely Loki in disguise.
With this failure to have everyone weep, Balder remained in Hel’s domain.
Some variations to this legend have mistletoe becoming the symbol of peace and friendship to make-up for it’s part in Balder’s death.
In the version of the story with a happy ending, Balder is restored to life, and Frigga is so grateful that she reverses the reputation of the offending plant–making it a symbol of love and promising to bestow a kiss upon anyone who passes under it.
The white berries of mistletoe are to have formed from Frigg’s tears when she mourned Balder’s death. Shakespeare makes an allusion to the story of Balder’s death by referring to mistletoe as “baleful.”
Peace & Love
Due to the above story, the Norse held the belief that hanging the mistletoe would be a symbol of peace, indicating that any past hurts and anger would be forgiven. Enemies would cease fighting each other for the day.
Christianity
Under the incoming Christian religion as it spread throughout Europe, the symbolism of the mistletoe would be converted to have Christian meanings as older pagan beliefs and traditions would get adapted and changed.
For example, in the Norse story with the death of Balder, mistletoe would keep its meanings as a symbol of life and fertility.
Magical Uses
Wearing sprigs of mistletoe is believed to help conceive, attract love and for protection.
During Medieval times or Antiquity, branches of mistletoe would be hung to ward off evil spirits. Mistletoe would be hung over the house and stable doors to protect from witches and keep them from entering.
Mistletoe could also be worn in amulets, bracelets, and rings for its magical qualities of protecting from evil, witches, poisoning and even werewolves!
Medicinal Uses
Yes, there are medical uses for mistletoe. However, the white berries are poisonous as they do cause epileptic type seizures and convulsions. Keep the white berries away from small children and pets who might decide to try and eat them.
Do make sure to consult an accredited medical source as some information has changed.
Homeopathic Remedies – Due to the nature of the poisonous berries, it causes many cultures such as the ancient Celts to use mistletoe berries in remedies for treating convulsions, delirium, hysteria, neuralgia and heart conditions. Some Native American tribes used a tea wash for bathing the head to treat headaches and infusions for lowering blood pressure and treating lung problems.
Warning – Do make sure to consult an accredited medical source as some medical experts disagree about the applications of homeopathic remedies and information is likely to change with better data and research.
Mistletoe is seen as an all-purpose plant and has been attributed a wide variety of magical uses and even a number of herbal and homeopathic remedies. A lot of it ending up very contradictory and suspect as to which to see as accurate. Further, you want to make sure you have the right mistletoe species.
Krampus
Also called: Krampusz (Hungarian)
Pronounciation: krahm-pus
Etymology: Claw (Old High German, Krampen)
Also Known As: Bartl or Bartel, Klaubauf (Austria), Krampusz (Hungarian,) Niglobartl, Parkelj (Slovenian,) and Wubartl
Once more December is upon us with its many familiar Winter Celebrations and Holidays.
In the Alpine regions of Austria and Germany, and even to Bavaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, northern Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland, there is the familiar horned and sometimes hairy figure of Krampus who arrives on Krampus Night to punish misbehaving children. Where Saint Nicholas is who gives gifts to good children. Krampus, like Zwarte Piet and other characters of Christmas are seen as the companions of Santa Claus or Sinterklaas.
Krampus is a figure who seems to originate in Germanic paganism before the arrival of Christianity in the region.
Description
While there are a few variations to the appearance of Krampus, many descriptions do agree on this figure being very hairy with brown, black or gray fur, cloven hooves, and horns of a goat. He will have a particularly longer than usual tongue that hangs out.
Krampus will also be carrying or wearing chains that symbolize the binding of the Devil by Saint Nicholas. These chains will be shaken and sometimes have bells on them. The other items that Krampus is known to carry are ruten or bundles of birch branches that he will either hand out to naughty children or beat them with. Sometimes this branch is replaced with a whip instead. Krampus can also be seen carrying a sack or washtub on his back that he uses to carry off naughty children whom he either eats, drowns, or takes to Hell.
Crime & Punishment
On December 5th, Krampusnacht, the figure of Krampus is known for going about and punishing naughty children, similar to the role that Zwarte Piet has in the Netherlands. Unlike Zwarte Piet, Krampus never gives out treats or gifts. They are one of the original Nightmares before Christmas. Or, if we do like with the 2015 Krampus movie, Krampus is who comes when all hope dies at Christmas.
Some of the punishments that children might expect are:
- If a child is lucky, they only get handed a birch branch.
- If said child was particularly naughty, they could expect to be beaten with the birch branch.
- In the cases where children were extremely naughty, they would get carried off by Krampus in either a sack or washtub that he carries on his back. What happens now to the child varies on the legend. In some cases, Krampus might eat the child, drown them or simply carry them off to Hell. These older legends where Krampus carries off a child do make a connection to the time when Moors would raid the European coast and carry off people into slavery. A connection also seen with the previously mentioned Zwarte Piet.
Ancient History
The history of Krampus is a bit murky and many scholars do agree that this figure has to date before pre-Christianity. Some try to make a connection back to the Epic of Gilgamesh and Endiku, the original Wild Man. Even if that source is flimsy and suspect, the European traditions of going out in disguises and mummery have long been a part of the Winter Solstice celebrations and have survived in some form or another.
The description of Krampus shows him as being demonic with a half human, half goat appearance for the long fur, horns, and hooves. It has been theorized that Krampus may have been a fertility deity before the arrival of Christianity to the region. At this point, anything that didn’t fit under the umbrella of Christian beliefs or couldn’t be incorporated, tends to be labeled as evil and demonic.
God of the Witches – This connection seems a bit speculative. Maurice Bruce makes a connection of Krampus with the Horned God of the Witches. That the birch branches may have been part of initiation rites into a coven. That the chains that Krampus carries are part of the Christian tradition of “binding the Devil” much like Sinterklaas is to have done with Zwarte Piet with binding the devil. It’s easy to see a connection of the horns and hooves, woodland entity and connect Krampus to satyrs, fauns and possibly Pan. A horned god of the forest is a fairly common image in many of the early European religions and beliefs.
The Son Of Hel
This aspect of the myth is fairly recent and was likely introduced in Gerald Brom’s 2012 novel “Krampus: The Yule Lord.” In it, Krampus is stated to be the son of Hel, the Norse goddess of death. Even if it’s a recent addition, it does show an expanding and evolving folklore surrounding Krampus that seems to be gaining popularity.
The Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt is a phenomenon found in many different European countries and cultures. It is a nightmarish, supernatural force led by some dark spectral hunter on horseback and accompanied by a host of other riders and hounds as they chase down unlucky mortals, either until they drop dead of exhaustion, are caught, and forced to join the Wild Hunt or if they can evade the Hunt until dawn.
Just exactly who it is that leads the Hunt does vary country by country in Europe. The Wild Hunt is known for making its ride during the Winter Solstice or New Year’s Eve. It’s possible that Krampus is a representative or aspect of the darker and harsher winter months.
It does tie in for one legend that the Krampus parades stem from an ancient rite to parade through town and run off ghosts. This seems further tied in as an explanation for the bells on the Krampus’ chains as there are traditions that the ringing of bells at the Solstice would scare off or banish evil spirits.
A Krampus By Any Other Name…
There are a few other figures in the Saint Nicholas/Winter Solstice celebrations who are similar to Krampus.
Bartel – Also called Bartl is a local name or variation for Krampus in Styria.
Belsnickel – A figure who follows Santa Claus in some regions of Europe such as Germany and Austria, he is similar to Krampus in that he will punish naughty children.
Hans Trapp – A sinister scarecrow from France that scares children around Christmas time.
La Pere Fouettard – “The Whipping Father,” Pere Fouettard accompanies the French Pere Noel on his nightly visit of December 5th where like Belsnickel, Krampus and Zwarte Piete, he will punish naughty children.
Knecht Ruprecht – Another figure from Germany who punishes children.
Percht – The percht are an offshoot of an older goddess, Perchta from the Alpine regions who guarded the beasts of the forest. The percht would be depicted as humanoid goats with elongated necks and wearing animal furs. These same percht are believed to become the basis for Krampus.
Ru Klaas – Another figure from Germany who punishes children.
Schabmänner or Rauhen – In the Austrian state Styria, these “Wild Man” figures will appear in addition to Krampus to dole out birch rods and punishments.
Zwarte Piete – A helper and companion to the Dutch Sinterklaas. Early depictions of Zwarte Piete show him as a punisher while later depictions have tried to soften the image.
Krampusnacht & The Feast Of Saint Nicholas
Where many American children get excited for Santa Claus on December 25th, in Europe, children get excited for Saint Nicholas’ arrival on December 5th (Aruba, Curacao and the Netherlands) or 6th (Belgium and Luxembourg). The celebrations of Saint Nicholas gained popularity in Germany right around the eleventh century. It is also around this time, that the patron saint of children would get paired up with a dark counterpart. With Saint Nicholas giving gifts to good children and Krampus punishing the bad children.
In Germany, things are a little different. The night before Saint Nicholas’ Day is December 5th, all well and good for the most part. However, December 5th though, is known as Krampusnacht or Krampus Night and is a night of riotous revelry and fear for Krampus is known to come, punishing naughty children, or carrying them away in a basket on his back.
The next morning on December 6th, children will look to see if their shoe or stocking has gifts and presents in it or if a rod or twigs have been left for them.
Austrian Urban Centers – In many Christmas markets, watered or toned-down images of Krampus will be sold, presenting him in a humorous light to tourists. Some people have complained that by softening the image of Krampus, he may be getting too commercialized.
Bavaria – The celebrations surrounding Krampus have seen revivals that include artistic traditions of hand-carved wooden masks.
Croatia – Here, Krampus is described as wearing a sack cloth around his wait and chains on his wrists and ankles, not just around his neck. If a child misbehaves too badly, Krampus will keep the gifts that Saint Nicholas would have given for himself and leave a silver birch branch behind.
Northern Italy – In the Udine province of Italy, there is the Cave del Predil. An annual Krampus festival is held here where the Krampus comes out just before sunset to chase children and whip them. To satiate the Krampus’ anger, children and young people would need to recite a prayer.
Slovenia – In many areas of Slovenia, Krampus is called Parkeli and is one of the companions of Miklavž, the Slovenian name for Saint Nicholas.
Styria – In this Austrian state, Krampus has a few different appearances. Here, Krampus will present a bundle of birch rods, painted gold to families so they can be hung in the house as a reminder to children to be on their best behavior. In smaller, more remote villages, other horned or antlered figures known as Schabmänner or Rauhen, “the Wild Man” will make appearances too in addition to Krampus.
United States –The figure of Krampus is catching on in many places and there are more and more movies and shows that will feature Krampus as a main antagonist, even if for one episode. Some cities will hold their own Krampus Runs and there are parties held celebrating Krampus, even if they are nothing more than an excuse to drink.
“The Great War On Christmas”
In the 12th century C.E., the Catholic Church tried to banish the Krampus celebrations due to their pagan elements and Krampus’ resemblance to the devil. This would prove difficult as people in the more rural areas would keep alive their traditions.
People wearing devil masks and acting riotously with drunken revelries and causing trouble have been recorded since the sixteenth century. It was not uncommon for animal masked devils to appear in Medieval Christian church plays. So, the appearances of Krampus masks at this time may very well have been part of these celebrations and the mummery that happens with many Winter festivals. The 17th century would see a full integration of pairing Saint Nicholas with Krampus. If they couldn’t stamp the Krampus traditions out, they would adapt him to the Christian religious observances.
When we get to the 20th century, the Austrian governments tried once more to prohibit the Krampus antics and displays. After the 1934 Austrian Civil War, the Dollfuss regime with the Fatherland’s Front and Christian Social Party tried to ban the Krampus traditions. The 1950’s saw the publication of government issued pamphlets titled: “Krampus is an Evil Man.”
But you can’t keep a good Krampus down and by the end of the 20th century, Krampus celebrations and parades came back in force. So much so, that Krampus celebrations have been spreading around the world to places like the United States as part of an “anti-Christmas celebration.” He certainly does represent a darker side to the holiday where not everything is not always so joyous. It does play to earlier celebrations of Christmas with drunk revelries and anyone wanting to push back again the heavy, over commercialization of Christmas.
Krampusfest
Also known as Kränchen, this is a village-wide celebration held in southeast Austria. It is often held on the Saturday after Krampus Day. These festivities are typically held at local community centers, schools or any facility large enough to hold some 300+ drunk revelers. Sometimes, Kränchen will be held a week before or after Krampus Day. It’s a way that some villages will turn Krampus Day into a three weekend long celebration, particularly one for drinking and booze.
Krampuslauf
The great Krampus run is an annual parade held every year in many Alpine towns. For the first two weeks, especially on the eve of December 6th, young people will dress in Krampus costumes and parade through the town, ringing bells and scaring parade watchers. Some participants may dress up as perchten, a wild female spirit from Germanic folklore. Alcoholic beverages of Krampus schnapps and brandy are common during this celebration.
Perchten – These wild spirits are known to be active between the Winter Solstice and up to around January 6th, Epiphany if you were in Italy.
Krampuskarten
These are the holiday greeting cards that feature Krampus on them. Krampus cards have been exchanged since the 1800’s during the Holiday Season. A typical greeting card reads: “Gruß vom Krampus” or “Greetings from the Krampus” and likely accompanied with some humorous rhymes or poems within.
Older versions of Krampus cards are likely to show a more sinister and frightening Krampus while newer, modern cards might show a more toned down, cuter, or humorous looking Krampus figure.
Perchtenlauf
This is a seasonal play that is found throughout the Alpine regions. It was known as Nikolausspiel or “Nicholas’ Play” at one time. These plays stem from the Medieval Morality Plays from Antiquity. The Nicholas plays feature Saint Nicholas reward children for their scholarly efforts instead of good behavior.
As I mentioned above, the percht are an offshoot of an older goddess, Perchta from the Alpine regions who guarded the beasts of the forest. The percht would be depicted as humanoid goats with elongated necks and wearing animal furs. These same percht are believed to become the basis for Krampus. Villagers living in the more remote regions of the Alpines would parade around in percht guises.
Zeus Part 1
Pronunciation: zyoos
Etymology: Greek – dios “bright”
Alternate Spellings & Other Names: Ζευς, Kronion
Epithets: Zeus has some 150 epitaphs that he is known by. I expect to miss a few, if not several. Here are some of his many names and epitaphs.
Zeus-Amphitryon (Zeus in the form of Amphitryon when he seduced Alcmene), Zeus Areius (“War-Like” or “The Atoning One”), Abrettenus or Abretanus (Zeus’ surname in Mysia), Achad (Syrian name), Adad (Syrian name), Zeus Adados, Adultus (Invoked as a name of Zeus in marriage), Zeus Agamemnon, Zeus Amphiaraus, Apemius (Averter of Ills), Apomyius (Dispeller of Flies), Acraeus (name in Smyrna ), Acrettenus (name in Mysia), Zeus Areius, Brontios (“Thunderer”), “Ceneus” – An epithet of Zeus after the temple on Cape Canaeum of Euboea. “Kosmetas” (Orderer), “Soter” (Savior), “Polieus” (Overseer of the City) and “Eleutherios” (guarantor of political freedoms), “The Lord of Justice,” “Father of Gods and Men,” “Nephelegereta” (Cloud-Gatherer), Zeus Helioupolites (“Heliopolite” or “Heliopolitan Zeus”), Zeus Olympios, Zeus Panhellenios (“Zeus of all the Hellenes”), Zeus Xenios (“Zeus of Hospitality, Strangers & Foriegners”), Zeus Herkios (“God of Courtyards”), Zeus Herkeios (Guardian of the House), Zeus Hikesios (“God of those seeking sanctuary”), Zeus Larisaeus, Philoxenon or Hospites, Zeus Horkios and Zeus Pistios (“Keeper of Oaths’), Zeus Hypsistos (“Supreme God”), Zeus Agoraeus (“Presider over Businesses”), Zeus Aegiduchos or Aegiochos (“Bearer of the Aegis”), Zeus Nikephoros (“Zeus holding Nike”), Zeus Tallaios (“Solar Zeus”), Zeus Ktesios (“Protector of Property”), Zeus Labrandos, Zeus Trephonius (“the nurturing”), Zeus Naos and Bouleus, Zeus Georgos (“Earth Worker” or “Farmer”), Kasios (“Zeus of Mount Kasios”), Ithomatas, Astrapios (“Lightninger”), Diktaios, Bottiaeus, Zeus Velchanos (“Boy-Zeus”), Kouros (Boy Zeus and early Cretan fertility god), Zeus Lykaios (Wolf Zeus), Zeus Katachthonios (Zeus of the Underworld), Eubouleus, Zeus Meilichios (“Zeus the Easily-Entreated”or Zeus as a snake), Zeus Maimaktes (the bloody aspect of Zeus Meilichios), Zeus Chthonios (“earth”), Zeus Plousios (“wealth-brining”) and Zan (Zeus’ name in Crete).
Zeus, mighty Zeus. King and “All-Father” of the Gods in Greek mythology. He is the mighty thunderer who rules from his abode on Mount Olympus. As King of the Gods, Zeus’ decrees dispense law, order, and justice throughout the mortal and divine realms. If you believe the myths, Zeus is also highly respected(?) in having fathered many of the gods and demigods alike. Exactly how he fathers them all is another matter, of which, his wife Hera is often not too pleased.
Universal Problems Require Universal Solutions
While researching the mythology for Zeus, it can get very problematic. There are at least three different major mythos for Zeus. Two Arcadian versions of his legend and the Hellenistic Zeus that so many are familiar with. Other versions are Zeus found at the Dodona oracle.
As more Greek writers and even modern retellers try to create an all-encompassing myth for all of Greece, it can often get contradictory as to which versions of the myths are correct. Hesiod’s Theogony is a big contributor to the version of the myths that most are familiar with.
Further, for all that the Greeks saw Zeus as the head of their Pantheon, he can often lose a lot of emphasis and power as too often, as the myths try to show his importance, Zeus can just end up having a cameo appearance or mention in the stories. The king who sits up on high passing out judgements.
Add in too, the numerous affairs that Zeus is to have had. Depending on the era of myths, this is Greek influence spreading and trying more to have Zeus as the progenitor for many deities and demigod heroes. If people are creating the gods in their image to reflect them, what does it say for a culture where a god gets to have his way with every female he desires and lusts after? The euphemism of ravish is used a lot for many of Zeus’ “romantic” pursuits. How much is Zeus a victim of his own reputation or not, can be hard to say.
Attributes
Animal: Bull, Dove, Cuckoo, Golden Eagle, Lion, Quail, Rooster, Swan, Wolf, Woodpecker
Element: Air
Patron of: Kings, People, Fate
Planet: Jupiter
Plant: Oak, Olive Tree
Sphere of Influence: Law, Order, Justice, Weather, Rain, Sky
Symbols: Aegis, Cornucopia, Courage, Lightning, Scepter, Sky, Strength, Thunderbolt
Early Greek Depictions
In art, Zeus is often shown as a middle-aged looking male with a long beard and hair and youthful, athletic figure, sporting a toga as he wields his lightning bolts. Sometimes Zeus is shown wielding a hammer. In Greek statuary, Zeus can be shown either standing or sitting with a lightning bolt or scepter in his hand. Zeus is sometimes shown wearing a crown of oak leaves. As King of the gods, Zeus is often seen as being very regal and imposing in this role.
Cult & Worship
Being the head god of the Greek pantheon, Zeus had several temples and festivals held in his honor. Zeus has what’s known as Panhellenic cults, centers of worship that are found spread throughout all of Greece.
Olympia – This is the biggest and major center of worship for Zeus. Located at Thessaly, Thessalia, the Olympic Games would be held here. An alter made of ash dedicated to Zeus is found here. Centuries of animal sacrifice remains can be found here. Such sacrifices were a white animal.
Olympic Games – These games were held every four years in honor of Zeus.
Nemean Games – Similar to the Olympic Games, only held every two years.
Theogamia – Or Gamelia, a festival celebrating Zeus and Hera’s marriage in Athens.
The Divine Youth – The island of Crete was unanimously recognized by the Greeks as being the birthplace of Zeus. Crete of course, was the center of the Minoan culture and civilization at one point. In Crete, the “Boy-Zeus” or Zeus Velchanos is a strong part of a Great Mother and Divine Child or Son and Consort mythos and religion. Zeus Velchanos would also be known as Kouros or Megas Kouros, “the Great Youth.”
On the island of Crete, Zeus is shown in art as a young, long-haired boy rather than the mature adult many statues depict. Ivory statues of the “Divine Boy” have been found near the Labyrinth of Knossos.
There’s even coinage that will show Zeus as a young boy sitting in a tree with a rooster or cockerel. Other coinage will show an eagle and a goddess in a sacred marriage. Inscriptions found at Gortyn and Lyttos show that a Velchania festival was still widely celebrated even during Hellenistic times.
There are several caves at Knossos, Ida and Palaikstro where Zeus was worshiped at. During the Hellenistic era, there was a small sanctuary dedicated to Zeus Velchanos at the Hagia Triada in the ruins of the Minoan palace. Looking at the stories of Minos and Epimenides, there is suggestion that these caves used as incubatory divination by kings and priests. Plato’s dialogue for Laws uses the pilgrimage route of these caves for its setting.
There was a secret rite held at the Cretan paideia. Zeus was said to preside over this military training and athletics. The participants were known as Kouretes, a group of armed dancers.
There is also a death or end-of-year fertility spirit where Zeus as Velchanos’ death is revered. The stories related to this myth are found in several mountain site where a fire would be lit annually at Zeus’ birth cave. Bees are also somehow connected to this observance.
There’s speculation, some holding that Zeus may have been a Cretan King that became deified after his death.
Lykaia – Under the name Zeus Lykaios or Wolf Zeus, Zeus is connected to the festival of Lykaia near Mount Lykaion in Arcadia.
The festival of Lykaia had a secret festival held on Mount Lykaion (Wolf Mountain) in Arcadia and it’s tallest peak. The myths that surround this ritual are believed to relate the story of Lycaon’s feast he held for the gods and involved having served up one of his sons Nyctimus as one of the main courses. Another version of this story given by an Eratosthenes, holds that Lycaon had served up his grandson Arcas at this feast. In either eventuality, an enraged Zeus turns Lycaon into a wolf and proceeds to kill by means of lightning; Lycaon’s other sons before restoring the dead child back to life.
Mmm…. Cannibalism. Not.
The festival of Lykaia were held annually at the beginning of May. It was a primitive ritual festival and rite of passage for young males known as epheboi among the Greeks into adulthood. With the ritual held at night, evidence taken by some with the name of Lycaon’s son Nyctimus, a lot of rumors about cannibalism and werewolf transformations circulated widely among the Greeks as to just what was going on up there. Even Plato wrote about one clan who would gather every nine years and sacrifice to Zeus Lykaios where a piece of human flesh would be mixed in among the pieces of animal.
The belief held that whoever ate the human flesh would into a wolf and they could only return to human form after nine-years if they hadn’t eaten human flesh. The famous Olympic boxing champion, Damarchus is said to have turned into a wolf during the ritual sacrifice held for Zeus Lykaios. Games were also a big part of the Lykaios festival held every year after the secret ritual held at night.
It has been put forth, that the epitaphs of Lykaios and Lykeios likely originate in a Proto-Greek word *λύκη, meaning “light.” It’s a word still seen in other Greek words for “twilight” and “year.” This connection is seen in the tragedy writer Achaeus referring to Zeus Lykaios as being “starry eyed.”
This Arcadian Zeus connects strongly to Zeus being the son of Aether. It more easily makes a connection of Lykosoura being the “first city that the sun beheld” as described by Pausanias. The other connection is the alter to Zeus on the summit of Mount Lykaion standing between two columns with eagles that faced the sun-rise.” This all connects Zeus as a god of light.
Eleusinian Mysteries & Orphic Mysteries – Zeus gets around, a lot. Not much is known about the Eleusinian Mysteries and there is plenty known about the Orphic Mysteries given the amount of literature and hymns that have been found and translated.
Both the Eleusinian Mysteries and Orphic Mysteries concern themselves with the death & rebirth of a deity. A role often given to Hades and Dionysus in order to connect them to the mysteries of Demeter and Persephone. As Zeus Katachthonios or Eubouleus (a youthful version of the Lord of the Underworld), Zeus finds himself venerated in many local customs that honor the Underworld Lord and the symbolic rebirth at Spring.
It varies greatly as the local customs varied from one Greek city to another. The Athenians and Siclians honored a chthonic Zeus as Zeus Meilichios (“kindly” or “honeyed”). More epitaphs of Zeus claiming a chthonic role are Zeus Chthonios (“earth”), Zeus Katachthonios (“under-the-earth”) and Zeus Plousios (“wealth-brining”). These versions of Zeus would be depicted as snakes or in a more humanoid form. Sacrifices to the chthonic form of Zeus would be offerings of black animals in sunken pits. Some places, such the Lebadaea shrine in Boeotia, a local hero, Trophonius was revered and then attached as an epitaph to Zeus as Zeus Trephonius (“the nurturing”). Another hero, Amphiaraus was honored as Zeus Amphiaraus near Thebes and the Spartans honored a shrine to Zeus Agamemnon.
Tripartite God
It all makes for an interesting connection. Hades as the God of Death, Dionysus as the God of Life and Zeus tying them both together to represent the birth, death and resurrection of a deity.
Aetnaea – A local festival near Mount Aetna. A statue of Zeus is found here where he is worshiped as Zeus Aetnaeus.
Really getting around as the All-Father and God of Everything.
Temples And Sacred Sites
Cave of Zeus – Found on the slopes of Mount Ida on the island of Crete, the Cave of Zeus is a sacred place dating to antiquity. Sometimes the location of this Cave is given as the Psychro Cave on Crete or the Cave of Zeus is found on the Aegean island of Naxos.
It is the cave that the infant Zeus was hidden in from his father, the titan Cronos. Some variations of Zeus’ origins will place this as his birthing place. A band of mythical warriors known as the Kouretes would dance wildly and loudly as a means to drown out the infant’s cries to keep Cronus from discovering his son.
Archeology discoveries of the cave have found a number of votive offerings in this place.
Dodona Oracle – The site of Zeus’ most famous and oldest oracle, found at Dodona in Epirus, Northwestern Greece. It was known as a land of Oak trees and likely why the tree is associated with Zeus. At this site, Zeus was known as Zeus Naos and Zeus Bouleus. Zeus’ priests were known as Selloi and barefoot. They would lay on the ground and observe the rustling of leaves and branches for their divinations. It is thought that their name contributed to the Hellenes. Later, female priests replaced the male priests and were called Peleiades or Doves. Here, Zeus’ consort is reputed to be Dione, not Hera. Dione is a titaness who may have predated the Hellenic era and likely the original goddess worshipped. Her name is a female form of Zeus’ own name.
Siwa Oracle – The oracle of Ammon near the Siwa Oasis in the western Egyptian desert. Herodotus writes of a Zeus Ammon whould be be consulted at this oracle. This version of Zeus favored the Spartans and a temple dedicated to him was already built during the Peloponnesian War. After Alexander’s trek to this oracle, this figure became the Libyan Sibyl.
Temple of Zeus – This is the most famous of Zeus’ temples in Olympia. It features a gold and ivory statue of Zeus seated on a throne. This statue was sculpted by Phidias and was regarded as one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.”
Mount Aenos – Located on the island of Cephalonia, Zeus was worshiped as either Zeus Aeneius or Zeus Aenesius.
Mount Olympus – This is the tallest mountain peak in Greece, Thessaly, Thessalia to be more precise. It is place from which Zeus and all of the gods are to have resided at, looking down on their domains below.
Shrines – There are several smaller shrines where it’s not always clear if it was dedicated to Zeus or to a local hero that had become defied. Some shrines were Lebadaea in Boeotia that might have belonged to Trophonius or Zeus Trephonius. Just outside of Thebes was Oropus was the shrine dedicated to Amphiaraus or Zeus Amphiaraus. There was a shrine to Zeus Agamemnon revered by the Spartans. At Tralles, there was a shrine dedicated to Zeus Larisaeus.
What’s In A Name?
Proto-Types – It has been put forward that Zeus’ name likely derives from a Proto-Indo-European god of the sky known as Dyeus phter or “Sky Father.” With this name, he is linked to the Rigveda Dyaus or Dyaus Pita. While there is a lot of speculation and hypothesizes about the Proto-Indian-European people, what their language was, culture and myths, Zeus is one whose name clearly comes from the Indo-European language that etymologists have tried to reconstruct. Another root word is “dyeu-“meaning to “to shine” or “bright.” The word is noted to have a similar meaning to the Latin word dies for “day.”
The Proto-Indo-Europeans aren’t really well known as they’re largely a hypothetical group as scholars try to track and guess which directions early humans migrated as they spread over Europe, the Middle East and Asia, which ideas and words stayed the same, ect.
With Mycenaean Greek as seen in the Linear B script, we have the words di-we and di-wo that very similar to the word dyeus.
In Plato’s Cratylus he gives the folk meaning for Zeus’ name as “cause of life always to all things.” It’s based on a pun with Zeus and Dia with Greek words for life and the phrase “because of.” As a result, persisting with this connection as correct isn’t supported with modern scholars.
Parentage and Family
Grandparents
Ouranos (the Sky) and Gaia (the Earth)
Parents
Depending on the source, Zeus can have a few different origins.
Cronus and Rhea – The often recognized version of Zeus’ parentage, especially when referencing Hesiod’s Theogony as the source.
Father – Aether (Arcadian origin)
Father – Coelus (Arcadian origin)
Father – Saturnus (Cretan origin)
Consort
Hera – Also his sister, who becomes Queen of the Gods.
Dione – In the Iliad, at the Oracle of Dodona, Dione is his consort.
Metis – In some myths, Zeus is married to this Titaness before swallowing her.
This list is more the willing consorts and lovers, not those who were raped, no matter what euphemisms are used.
Siblings
He is the sixth child born of Cronus and Rhea.
The birth order is Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus.
Chiron – a half-brother by way of Cronus and the nymph Philyra.
Children
A lot. Suffice to say, there are a lot of children that Zeus has fathered. As time went on and the Greek myths get rewritten and added to, there are a lot more children added to the roster of Zeus’ progeny. Either the god is really busy, or everyone wants to claim divinity and Zeus as their daddy!
With Aega, Zeus is the father of Aegipan or Goat-Pan. Not Pan, a different Pan.
With Alcmene, Zeus is the father of the famous Greek demi-god and hero Heracles.
With Callisto, Zeus fathers Arcas.
With Danae, Zeus is the father of Perseus.
With Demeter, Zeus is the father of Persephone and Iacchus.
With Dione, at the Oracle of Dodona, in the Iliad, Zeus fathers Aphrodite.
With Electra, Zeus fathers Iasion.
With Europa, Zeus fathers Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon.
With Eurynome, Zeus fathers the Charites or Graces.
With Io, Zeus is the father of Epaphos.
With Leda, Zeus fathered two sets of twins: Castor and Polydeuces and Clytemnestra and Helen of Troy.
With Leto, Zeus fathers the twin gods Apollo and Artemis.
With Maia, Zeus is said to be the father of Hermes.
With Metis, Zeus is the father of Athena.
With Hera, Zeus is the father of Ares, Eileithyia, Eris, Hebe, Hephaestus
With Mnemosyne (Memory), Zeus fathers nine daughters, the Muses over a period of nine nights.
With Semele, Zeus fathers Dionysus in some versions of the myths.
With Themis, goddess of Justice, Zeus fathers the three Horae, goddesses of the seasons and the three Moirai or Fates.
Aeacus, Agdistis, Angelos, Dardanus, Enyo, Ersa, the Litae, Pandia,
In addition, Zeus is also said to be the father of the Magnesian and Macedonian people.
Olympian God
Zeus is counted among the twelve major deities who resided on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain peak in Greece and all of Europe. For the Greeks, this was the perfect location for where the gods would preside at while keeping watch on humankind down below them. Add in that as King and Ruler of the other Olympians, this is really the ideal place as Zeus can look down upon the earth and see what’s going on.
As there are several deities within Greek mythology, just who numbers among the Olympians varies. It’s generally agreed that the twelve major Olympians are: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and then either Hestia or Dionysus.
King Of The Gods
Zeus is the ruler of the Olympian gods, ruling over all of the gods and mortals alike from Mount Olympus. As King, Zeus was the patron of Kings before later Grecian history, Kings were no longer followed. Zeus dispensed with wisdom, authority, divine decres over the lot of mortals.
Mortal Fates – Before the Moirai were born, Zeus governed the fates of men. He had two urns, one filled with ill fortune and the other filled with luck. Zeus would arbitrarily dole out man’s lot by way of fortunes and misfortunes according to his whim.
Prophecies – As an all-knowing deity who saw and knew everything he ruled over, the powers of prophecies were once Zeus’ domain before passing them on to his son Apollo.
Sky & Weather God
Zeus’ main domain is the Sky and with it, the weather and rain. Especially the thunderbolts and lightning that are his primary weapons. One of his epitaphs is Nephelegereta or “Cloud-Gatherer.” Closely connected to this epitaph as one of his symbols is the scepter, thought to be influenced with imagery from the Ancient Near East.
It was believed and still believed, even if in fun, that Zeus would strike those he sought to punish with lightning. Zeus would especially punish those who lied or broke their oaths.
Zeus would also send thunderstorms at enemies as seen in Homer’s epic, The Iliad.
Sun God
On occasion, Zeus is equated with the Hellenic sun deity, Helios who is said to be Zeus’ eye. In Hesiod’ss Theogony, the sun is outright stated to be Zeus’ eye.
The Cretan version of Zeus Tallaios, the local cult equated their local deity Talos with Helios.
Nature God
The Zeus that originates from Arcadia and Dodona was a nature god as seen in his connection to the oak tree and doves as a symbol of fertility. Even the Cretan Zeus connects him as a nature deity with the cornucopia, milk and honey symbols.
By the time that the Homeric poems, the nature aspect of Zeus seem to have been discarded and he is viewed more as a political and national deity that guards over Kings and the protector of law, tradition and religion.
Herne The Hunter
Etymology – Horn (Old English)
Suffice to say, Herne is a well-known figure in British and Modern folklore. At first glance, it’s easy to say that Herne is one of the names for the Horned God in Wicca and Modern Paganism. A slightly more knowledgeable response would say that Herne is who leads the Wild Hunt. Or perhaps that he is the ghostly specter of a Games Keeper with antlers who haunts Windsor Forest.
It does get a bit tricky on trying to get into what’s concrete for the figure of Herne.
Description
Many descriptions of Herne will agree that he is human either wearing antlers or has antlers. Sometimes he is on foot others he is on horseback and may or may not be accompanied by hunting hounds or other animals of the forest.
Ghost – The version of Herne that appears in Shakespeare’s play, clearly terrorizes the forest animals and people alike, blasting or withering the trees of the forest as he shakes his chains. The alternative lines say he can take on the shape of a stag. Later descriptions of Herne will have him riding a horse as part of the Wild Hunt.
The Merry Wives Of Windsor
The earliest known mention that we have of Herne is in William Shakespeare’s play The Merry Wives of Windsor written in 1597.
That certainly is a case for having been around for quite a while just based off that alone.
In Act 4, Scene 4, we have the characters Mistress Page and Mistress Ford deciding that they will play a trick on Sir John Falstaff because of his unwanted advances. The two ladies convince Falstaff to disguise himself as a ghost and meet them out under an oak in Windsor Forest at midnight. The two ladies also convince and get some children to show up at the same time who are dressed up as fairies to pinch and burn Falstaff.
“There is an old tale goes, that Herne the hunter,
Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest,
Doth all the wintertime, at still midnight,
Walk round about an oak, with great ragg’d horns;
And there he blasts the trees, and takes the carrle,
And makes milch kine* yield blood, and shakes a chain
In a most hideous and dreadful manner.”
Milch kine? Yeah, milking cows.
Bogeyman?
There is a set of alternative lines from 1602 that hint that Herne was a local ghost story used by mothers to get their children to behave.
The alternative lines are as follows:
“Oft have you heard since Horne the hunter dyed,
That women, to affright their little children,
Says that he walkes in the shape of a great stagge.”
Whether the character of Herne existed before the creation of Shakespeare’s play or is a creation of it, isn’t clear. What is clear is that this play is for certain where the figure of Herne enters British folklore and onwards to a larger, global audience… at least the West.
Cuckold’s Horns – With an Elizabethan audience, they would know that a cuckold is a name given to a husband with an unfaithful wife. A cuckold like the cuckoo bird that lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. So, a husband is likely raising a child who is not his own. The horns were likely a theatrical device of the Elizabethan stage to inform an audience of a character’s role.
Herne’s Oak
In Windsor’s Home Park, there have been a few different oak trees since the mid-1800’s that people have claimed to be either Falstaff’s Oak or Herne’s Oak.
The main oak that people pointed to as Herne’s Oak fell in 1796 due to declining botanical health. The other oak was blown over during a windstorm on August 31st 1863. The logs from this tree were burnt in order to exorcise the ghost of Herne. One log was kept to carve a bust of Shakespeare from and is on display in the Windsor and Royal Borough Museum in the Guildhall.
Later, Queen Victoria planted another oak to replace the one that fell in 1863. Later, King Edward VII would have the tree removed in 1906 during a landscaping project. Still, another oak would be replanted to replace the fallen tree from 1796 and named Herne’s Oak.
All’s well that ends well.
Growing Fame
As the legend of Herne continues to grow and expand, the 20th century sees Herne’s ghost now appearing shortly before national disasters and before the death of monarchs, much like a Banshee.
At the very least, because people expect to see something, more and more people claim to have encountered Herne’s ghost or to have heard the sounds of hounds or a horn blowing in Windsor Forest.
Truth In The Telling
With the authenticity of Herne being lost to history and up for debate, there are enough people who believe that Shakespeare must have been using a local legend. To this end, people have been trying to add some historical veracity and authenticity to legitimize Herne’s legend. If nothing else, the legend and imagery of Herne have succeeded at capturing people’s imaginations for centuries and has well earned a place in folklore.
The Restless Gamekeeper – This is the next literary source, written by Samuel Ireland in 1791 in his Picturesque Views on the River Thames. In the story, Herne is to have been based on a historical figure by the name of Richard Horne, a yeoman who lived during Henry VIII’s reign. Horne was accused of poaching and as a result, he hung himself from an oak tree. As this was a suicide death, Herne’s spirit is believed to be barred from entering either heaven or hell and is doomed to haunt the place of their death.
Shakespearean scholar James Halliwell-Phillips found a document where Herne is listed as a hunter and confessed to poaching. Plus, early versions of The Merry Wives of Windsor spell the name as “Horne” instead of “Herne.”
There are of course, a couple variants to this story.
Variation 1 – In this version, Herne is the huntsman to King Richard II. After some local men grew jealous of Herne’s status, they conspired to accuse him of poaching on the King’s land. Falsely accused and outcast, Herne hung himself from an oak tree.
Variation 2 – In this story, Herne saves King Richard II from a stag. Fatally wounded, Herne is healed by a magician who takes Herne’s skills in forestry and hunting as payment. Part of this being cured involved having the dead stag’s horns tied to Herne’s head. Distraught by the loss of his skills, Herne hung himself from a tree. As a result, his spirit is doomed each night to lead a spectral hunt through Windsor Rest.
Windsor Castle – Written by William Harrison Ainsworth in 1842. This novel aims to be a historical drama set during the reign of the Tudors and follows Henry VIII’s pursuit of Anne Boleyn. Herne features throughout the novel as a ghostly figure haunting the nearby woods of Windsor. This version of Herne is somewhat sinister as Harrison Ainsworth created a history where Herne was gored by a stag. Herne makes a deal with the Devil to spare him. Part of the deal is that Herne would forever wear antlers. This version of Herne had served Richard II and likely the source of the two previous folkloric versions of where he originates from.
The Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt is a phenomenon found in many different European countries and cultures. It is a nightmarish, supernatural force led by some dark spectral hunter on horseback and accompanied by a host of other riders and hounds as they chase down unlucky mortals, either until they drop dead of exhaustion, are caught and forced to join the Wild Hunt or able to evade the Hunt until dawn.
Just exactly who it is that leads the Hunt does vary country by country in Europe. The Wild Hunt is known for making its ride during the Winter Solstice or New Year’s Eve. Jacob Grimm of Grimms Brothers fame makes a connection of Herne to the Wild Hunt due to the epitaph of “the Hunter.” That does seem to work, a Huntsman, connect him to the Wild Hunt and for Britain, the idea really jells of a local person who becomes a lost soul, doomed to forever ride with the Hunt.
Of course, the point is brought up that as a ghost, Herne is connected to one locality whereas the Wild Hunt wanders, moving from one place to another, seemingly randomly.
Ultimately, just who leads the Wild Hunt will vary from country to country. In Welsh mythology, it is Gwyn ap Nudd or Annwn who lead the hunt with a pack of spectral hounds to collect unlucky souls. The Anglo-Saxons of Britain hold that it is Woden who leads the hunt at midwinter. Wotan is very similar to Odin (just another name for the same deity really), Herne has been linked to them as both have been hung from a tree.
Pagan Deity
With Wicca and many modern pagan religions, Herne is frequently identified with the Horned God. As a Horned God, Herne is seen as a god of the Hunt, the sacred masculine, animals, nature, crossroads, sacrifice, fertility, virility, forests, hunters, and warriors.
Close on the heels of a horned deity, Herne has been connected to the Celtic deity of Cernunnos. Most notably, Margaret Murray made this connection in her 1931 book, “God of the Witches.” She sees Herne as a manifestation of Cernunnos and a very localized god found only in Berkshire. Take that as you will, for as much as Margaret Murray is hailed as the Grandmother of Wicca, many of her ideas and theories have been discredited and contested or challenged as they often appealed to emotional desires didn’t fulfill proper scrutiny and criteria for research. She is still very important in getting the ball rolling for those who follow Wicca and Paganism.
Archeological Discoveries – Of note is that a headpiece made from the top part of a stag’s skull with antlers still attached was found in Britain at Star Carr near Scarborough. This headpiece is thought to date back to around 8500 B.C.E., dating it to the Mesolithic era. The headdress is thought to have served shamanic rituals to ensure a successful hunt.
Cernunnos – Gaul
It’s not just Margaret Murry who sees Herne as being very similar to or an aspect of Cernunnos, it is also R. Lowe Thompson in his 1929 book “The History of the Devil – The Horned God of the West” who makes the connection.
Thompson makes the connection of Herne to other Wild Huntsmen, looking for a connection of all of these horned deities being really the same being or aspects of each other. He goes on how Herne and Cernunnos are the same, just as the English word “horn” is a cognate of the Latin word “cornu.”
So… “cerne” and “herne.” It’s enough for many Wiccans and Pagans to accept Herne as an aspect of Cernunnos just on the fact that both have horns or antlers.
Depending on the source and who you ask, Herne hunts and destroys nature and wildlife where Cernunnos seeks to protect it.
Pan – Greek
While we’re at it, the Grecian rustic gods of the wild, Pan is also seen as a syno-deity who can be equated with Herne and other Horned Gods.
Woden – Anglo-Saxon
Also spelled Wotan.
Because so many have tried to make connections, I already touched on this above with the Wild Hunt, Herne as been connected to Wodan as well. Both Herne and Wodan hung from a tree. Herne out of shame and suicide and Wodan as he was seeking knowledge of the runes. Herne is also bandied about as being derived from one of Wodan’s titles, Herian (“Warrior-Leader”), a titled used when leading his fallen warriors, the Einherjar.
The Play’s The Thing!
Even if the origins of Herne are rooted in a Shakespearean play solely as a creation of the great bard himself. People assume that Shakespeare must have drawn on some unverifiable local myths and folklore.
While we can argue and aren’t completely sure, Herne has more than earned a place in folklore. Afterall, Herne continues to inspire and find his way into literature and modern media.
There are numerous books and T.V. series where Herne has a part or features and continues to be a character people readily draw inspiration from.
Such as a British show, Robin of Sherwood where Herne is a pagan priest and spirit of the woods. Books such as Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.
Marduk
Etymology: “Bull Calf of the Sun,” “Calf of the Sun” or “Solar Calf”
Also known as: Bel (“Lord,” Akkadian), Bel-Marduk, Murdoch
Other Spellings: 𒀭𒀫𒌓 (Cuniform), dAMAR.UTU, Amar utu k (Sumerian), Μαρδοχαῖος, Mardochaios (Greek), מְרֹדַךְ, Mərōdaḵ (Masoretic Hebrew), Merōḏaḵ (Tiberian), Marōdak (Septuagint), Merodach (Biblical Hebrew), Martuk
Pronunciation: mah’-duk
In Mesopotamian mythology, Marduk is a fertility and storm deity of Babylon. He is known for defeating the dragon goddess Tiamat and becoming the Leader of the Babylonian pantheon.
Marduk came to prominence as the patron deity of the city of Babylon during the rule of Hammruabi, the sixth king of the First Babylonian dynasty of the Amorites in the 18th century B.C.E. when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley. Marduk’s full acceptance as the head of the Babylonian pantheon would be completed by the last half of the second millennium B.C.E.
Attributes
Animal: Dogs, Horse, Mušḫuššu (Snake-Dragon)
Element: Air, Water
Planet: Jupiter
Sphere of Influence: Fertility, Judgement, Storms, Vegetation
Symbols: Hoe, Spade
Weapon: Imhullu
Mesopotamian Depictions
In what surviving art and texts we have, Marduk is shown as being human dressed in royal robes decorated with stars. Marduk is often accompanied by his snake-dragon that he got from the god Tishpak.
When shown riding in his war chariot, Marduk carries his other emblems of a scepter, arrows, bow, spear, net and lightning bolt.
What’s In A Name?
To start, there is some controversy over the translation of Marduk’s name. There is the Sumerian dAMAR.UD that translates as: “calf of the sun/sun-god.” Then comes the suggestion that this spelling should call for the translation of: “calf of the storm,” “the son of the storm, and “maker of storms.” The latter translation is often rejected due to a lack of evidence with Marduk’s role as a storm god. Accepting this interpretation of the name nixes any connection to Marduk as a solar deity.
The Akkadian spelling for Marduk’s name is AMAR.UTU that translates to mean MERI.DUG. The name is translated to mean “Solar Calf.” In the Hebrew Torah, his name is spelled as Merodach and the Greek spelling of his name is given as Mardochaios.
Marduk’s name is thought to derive from the phrase: amar-Utu meaning: “Bull Calf of the Sun God Utu.” This naming convention could easily be an indicator of early genealogy. Or, it’s an indicator of cultural ties to the city of Sippar, whose main deity was Utu, a Sun God. The city of Sippar dates to the third millennium B.C.E.
The Encyclopedia of Religion comments that the name Marduk was likely pronounced as Marutuk.
Temple Sites
Esagila – “Temple whose top is raised” or “Proud/Honored Temple.” While Marduk would come to claim prominence throughout most of Mesopotamia, his primary temple is Esagila, located in Babylon. This is the famous ziggurat that’s described by Herodotus.
Etemenanki – “Temple that is the foundation of Heavens and Earth” A ziggurat with Marduk’s shrine located at the top. This may be the temple that inspired the “Tower of Babel.”
Cult of Marduk – As the patron god of Babylon, this city was the main location for Marduk’s worship. The rise and popularity of this religion venerating Marduk is tied closely with the rise of Babylon as a strong political power and capital of the Mesopotamian empire. To the degree that many other deities were subsumed and seen as aspects and epitaphs of Marduk. Outside of Babylon, Marduk was worshipped in Borsippa, Nippur, and Sippar.
In the Assyrian period of Babylonian history, Aššur becomes the head of the pantheon and Marduk takes on a symbolic role of Babylon’s resistance to Assyrian rule. The cult of Aššur would compete with the cult of Marduk. In the Assyrian version of the Enūma Eliš, it is Aššur who becomes the head of the pantheon, not Marduk.
The Marduk Prophecy also shows the conflicts of this change of power as Marduk’s statue is continually “taken captive” until finally the resulting destruction of Babylon and Esagila with the different shifts of power in the region.
Marduk Statue
This is a very important aspect of the ancient world beliefs and Mesopotamia is no different. Within the temple of Esagila there was a golden statue of Marduk. This statue wasn’t just dedicated to Marduk, the ancient Mesopotamians believed that statue to actually be the god himself. Seen in the Marduk Prophecy, if the statue of the god wasn’t present, then he wasn’t in his temple or there to protect his city-state and all sorts of calamities and problems would happen.
Originating during the rule of the Kassites, a new king wishing to see his rule as legitimate, needed to “take the hands of Marduk,” symbolizing the king’s submission and accepting the will and guidance of the god.
In 485 B.C.E., the Persian king Xerxes attacked the city of Babylon and there is no mention of Marduk’s statue. The same goes when Alexander the Great conquers Babylon in 331 B.C.E., there’s no mention of the statue. This lack of evidence and records leads many scholars to believe and agree that Marduk’s statue disappearance from history means that it has, in all likelihood been destroyed.
Without a statue, the Babylonian religion and worship of Marduk declined.
Akitu Festival
This was the ancient New Year’s festival that the Sumerians and Mesopotamian cultures celebrated. This festival occurred sometime during March and April, marking the planting of barley. This festival was presided over by Nabu and Marduk to such a degree, that a text known as the Akitu Chronicle documents a time when the festival couldn’t be observed as Marduk (his physical statue, thus him) wasn’t present in the city of Babylon. Without the statue to carry through the city out to a small house outside the city walls, the people thought that disaster would soon befall them if the patron god wasn’t there to stop the forces of chaos.
Every year at the Akitu House located outside the city, the Enuma Elish would be recited for the New Year’s festival. There was also involved a ritual slapping of the king. Gotta’ stay humble, I guess.
Parentage and Family
Anu – Grandfather and the original head of the Mesopotamian pantheon before other deities arrive on the scene.
Parents
Ea – The previous head and leader of the gods before stepping down. Known as Enki in Sumerian. Ea was the creator god, associated with the fresh, life-giving waters.
Damkina – A Fertility and Mother goddess originally known as Ninhursag.
Consort
Sarpanitu – Also spelled Zarpanitu. She is a Mother and Fertility Goddess
Nanaya – She is sometimes given as Marduk’s wife in the myths.
Children
Nabu – Son and god of literature, scribes and wisdom. Nabu was originally Marduk’s first minister before being identified as his son.
Birth Of A Legend
For as old and ancient as the Mesopotamian mythologies are, it makes sense that we might not know that much about them. To a point.
Marduk goes from obscurity with almost nobody knowing anything about him in the third millennium B.C.E. to the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon in Babylon in the first millennium B.C.E.
By the time the Enuma Elish is written, Marduk’s original nature has already been altered and obscured. As now, he’s a deity linked to the attributes of judgment, magic, vegetation, and water. He is now identified as the son of Ea and Damkina.
As the politics of Babylon and the whole of the Euphrates Valley ramped up, Marduk’s attributes and aspects begin to alter as he would be placed as the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon, especially for his patron city-state of Babylon.
Once Babylon becomes the capital of Mesopotamia, Marduk who was currently just a patron deity of the city now ascends to become the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon and a supreme deity, ruling or presiding over everything else. Explaining this power shift of head honcho, head god and the transfer of power from Ea to Marduk, the Enûma Elish gets written, showing a peaceful abdication of power as Ea steps down and concedes rulership to his son.
There are a couple little snags later on, such as the revival of the god Enlil’s worship to Marduk, reflecting a real-world, historical rise of the cult of Enlil during Kassite control in Babylon between 1570 B.C.E. to 1157 B.C.E. The worship of Marduk and thus, his triumph over Enlil returns at the end of this era of Kassite control.
The other snag to Marduk’s popularity and his being the supreme deity comes during 1000 B.C.E. when the deity Aššur up north in Assyria gains popularity and worship. Down in the southern parts of the region, Marduk is still the head deity. The history of these events is reflected in the Marduk Prophecy.
Enuma Elish
This ancient epic creation poem was written in the 18th century B.C.E. when the city of Babylon becomes the political capital of Mesopotamia. It’s largely written to show Marduk’s birth, many of his heroic deeds and how Ea (Enki) steps down to allow Marduk, in a relatively peaceful transfer of power to become the king and head of the pantheon.
The Enuma Elish begins at the start of time when the universe is nothing more than chaos with freshwater represented by Apsu and saltwater represented by Tiamat, a dragoness. The male and female principles, not unlike the concept seen in the Japanese Yin & Yang. The joining of these two primordial deities would see the creation of all the other gods, known as the Anunnaki.
While Tiamat loved all her children, Apsu, on the other hand, didn’t care for them, saying they were too noisy, keeping him up all night and unable to get any work done during the day. Apsu’s response to this problem was to kill his children.
A horrified Tiamat told her eldest son, Enki of what Apsu planned. Enki decided that the best plan for dealing with this was to put Apsu into a deep sleep and then kill him. From Apsu’s corpse, Enki then creates his home, the earth and the marshy region of Eridu.
This further horrifies Tiamat who wasn’t expecting for Enki to just up and kill Apsu. As a result, she decided to wage war on her own children. The mighty Tiamat raises up an army of chaos and sets Kingu (Quingu) as the general of this army and her new consort.
This has Enki and the other gods worried about what to do. That is, until Marduk steps forward, saying he will lead everyone in this war. Marduk has one condition, that is that he be named as the new king of the pantheon. Enki agrees and Marduk leads the Anunnaki to battle.
Marduk prepares his weapons consisting of bow and arrows, a mace, lightning as he is a storm god, flames and a net. Gathering up the four winds, Marduk encircles and nets the mighty Tiamat to prevent her from escaping him. New winds are created by Marduk such as whirlwinds and tornadoes. As he is a storm god, Marduk brings down a fierce flood of rain. It’s a battle between a storm god and a primordial goddess of chaos and the sea, it’s epic as Marduk rides in his storm-chariot pulled by four horses who have poison in their mouths. Spellcasting and an herbal antidote as Marduk faces off against one of the mightiest dragons known in mythology.
After Marduk finally slays Tiamat with an arrow to her stomach, he then goes after Tiamat’s son, Kingu who oversaw the army and wears the Tablets of Destiny over his chest. Marduk makes short work of Kingu in single combat, claiming the tablets and establishing himself as the new head of the pantheon.
This is a lot of power that Marduk has now accumulated and he sets about to create the universe. But didn’t that already exist? He’s at least making a new one as Marduk takes the two halves of Tiamat’s corpse to create the heavens and the earth, completing the work started by Enki. From Tiamat’s eyes, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow.
With Kingu’s blood, Marduk mixes it with the earth to create the first humans. The creation of humans would allow the gods the leisure time and the time to focus on higher purposes, taking care of human needs as humanity basically did the grunt work. All humans would need to do is respect and give heed to the will of the gods living in Eridu with Marduk ruling overall as a benevolent god.
That doesn’t sound like it will end well and I’m sure there’s another story concerning that.
Side Note: Depending on the version of the creation myth, it is solely Marduk involved in all of it and there’s no mention of Enki.
Further, knowing that this is a revision of the original myths, I’m curious about what the originals may have been.
Eridu – The First City
Yes, there really is a historical site for an ancient city of this name. Eridu is the oldest city built by the Mesopotamians around 5400 B.C.E. Depending on who you ask, it may be the oldest city in the world. In the Babylonian texts, namely Enuma Elish, it is a holy city where all the other gods lived a life of leisure.
This city was originally the city-state for the god Enki who is later known as Ea by the Akkadians. For modern times, it was first excavated by John George Taylor in 1855. Later, archeological discoveries found that the city was ultimately abandoned around 600 B.C.E. due to a change in climate as the water became more salinized from all the constant irrigation.
As seen later, in the Marduk Prophecy, with the Enuma Elish, the story here likely reflects on the transition from Eridu to Babylon as it became the political and religious center of the Euphrates valley and a cultural shift as the newer city becomes more prominent over the older city of Eridu.
Revisionist History – Scholars have noted that the city of Eridu is founded in the 5th millennium B.C.E. and that Marduk ascends to head of the Mesopotamian pantheon in the 2nd millennium B.C.E. That is a lot of time to have passed. It clearly marks that someone decided to rewrite the myths to favor Marduk when his popularity and the importance of Babylon as a political center become prominent.
Fertility God
Marduk is a god of fertility and vegetation and thus, agriculture. The triangular spade or hoe that Marduk is shown with in some art represents his role and power over fertility and vegetation.
The roles and aspects of Marduk being a Spring, Storm and Solar god also blend in with this function. However, making these connections relies on accepting certain etymological interpretations for Marduk’s name.
Patron God
As a patron god, Marduk, not just King of the gods, also presided over the city of Babylon. The importance of a patron deity is shown in the Marduk Prophecy where Babylon has fallen to chaos and disarray when Marduk’s statue and thus the god himself leaves and order is later restored when King Nebuchadnezzar returns Marduk’s statue to the city.
Not the Original Patron – This was a fun little fact to come across. Before Marduk became the patron god of Babylon, that honor belonged to Inanna, goddess of sexuality and warfare. She would still be a prominent and important goddess throughout the Mesopotamian culture.
Protector
Marduk’s role as Patron, also places him prominently as a protector deity. Aside from the Akitu Chronicles and the Marduk Prophecy, there are two other texts: “The Ludlul-Bel-Nimeqi” and “The Wrath of Erra” that highlight just how vital having one’s patron deity present was, not just for the city, but for the individual as well.
The Ludlul-Bel-Nimeqi – Also called the “Let me praise the Lord of Wisdom” or “The Poem of the Righteous Sufferer,” it is often classified as “Wisdom Literature.” This text is a long treatise some four tablets long with 120 lines each. that details the amount of suffering that Tabu-utu-bel, a city official of Nippur goes through because Marduk isn’t close enough to help as he is too far away for any meaningful help. Biblical scholars have compared this text with the Book of Job for the themes of suffering when one’s God seems absent.
The Wrath of Erra – This is another text, in which the war god, Erra (Irra or Nergal) grows bored and decides the only way to cure his boredom is to attack Babylon. The other gods try to persuade Erra that this is a bad idea and don’t do it. Undaunted, Erra heads off to Babylon anyways. Once there, Erra convinces Marduk that his clothes are shabby and perhaps he should go about getting some new threads. Marduk says he’s much too busy to take of this matter and Erra convinces Marduk that he’ll watch over the city. Off Marduk goes and Erra takes advantage of the opportunity to proceed with destroying the city and killing civilians. Depending on the source translated from, either the other gods stop Erra’s path of destruction or he’s halted when Marduk finally returns with his fancy new duds. Regardless, the story ends with giving praise to Erra, the god of war for sparing a part of the city so people could rebuild.
Yay?
The idea of having a protector and patron god of one’s city was very strong among the Babylonians. This was their whole city and personal identity that in 485 B.C.E. the Persian king Xerxes had Marduk’s statue destroyed when he sacked the city. Eventually, with the sands of time, Babylon is deserted and left to ruin and people have forgotten about worshiping Marduk.
King Of The Gods
As head of the Mesopotamian pantheon, Marduk takes on a lot of aspects. In some cases, this is taking over the role of other gods who had previously been the head of the pantheon. Such aspects that Marduk comes to preside over are justice, compassion, mercy, healing, regeneration, magic.
Mušḫuššu
A “snake-dragon, mušḫuššu is Marduk’s sacred animal that he got from the god Tishpak. The mušḫuššu is depicted on the city walls of Babylon.
50 Titles
If you ask me this is a lot of titles and epitaphs to be known by. We get this list from two different sources, “The Seven Tablets of Creation” that Leonard W. King studied in 1902 to reconstruct from fragments a list of names. Then there is the “King’s List” that Franz Bohl studied in 1936. Finally, we get to 1958, when Richard Litke compared and noticed similarities with Marduk’s name between the two lists of An (Anum, a deity list) and Enuma Elish.
These names demonstrate the level of prominence that Marduk held within the Babylonian pantheon. These fifty names of Marduk are found and documented in the Enûma Elish and the Anum.
Why 50? – The number 50 was originally associated with the god Enlil, the former head of the pantheon. So this is just part of showing the transfer of power from Enlil to Marduk.
Asalluhi – As Marduk came to prominence, he took over the role and identity of Asalluhi, the son of Ea and god of incantations and magic. With both Asalluhi and Marduk becoming equated as the same entity, Asalluhi’s name survives as one of Marduk’s many names and epitaphs. Some commentary has noted that equating or syncretizing Marduk and Asalluhi together is a means to create a stronger tie to the god Ea and the city of Eridu as Ea was not part of the original pantheon.
Bel – Meaning “Lord,” this is the name that Marduk would eventually be known by, making him a god of order and destiny.
He is normally referred to as Bel “Lord”, also bel rabim “great lord”, bêl bêlim “lord of lords”, ab-kal ilâni bêl terêti “leader of the gods”, aklu bêl terieti “the wise, lord of oracles”, muballit mîte “reviver of the dead”, etc.
The Marduk Prophecy
This is an interesting text, not so much as it’s telling prophecies, but more about being a history around the movement of Marduk’s cult as they follow Marduk’s statue from Babylon. This text was found at the House of the Exorcist in Assur and dates from 713 to 612 B.C.E. It appears to be similar to another set of texts, the Shulgi prophecy.
It begins with Marduk’s statue getting stolen by Mursilis I of Hatti in 1531 B.C.E. The god Marduk is described as visiting the land of Assyria. Then, when a Tukulti-Ninurta I overthrows Kashtiliash IV in 1225 B.C.E., Marduk’s statue is taken Assur and then Elam as Kudur-nahhunte sacks the city in 1160 B.C.E.
Each time, Marduk is described as willingly heading off to visit these places. Which makes sense when you remember that this far back, a statue of a deity… hence an idol was the actual deity in question, not just a representation.
The way Marduk’s travels are told, they are allegories of the history involved. The first couple of journeys that Marduk takes are fairly favorable. When it comes to the city-state of Elam, that’s a whole other matter as the other gods following after Marduk, likely shows the changing climate of the region as they abandon Babylon due to famine and pestilence.
There’s also a familiar theme as Marduk prophecies that he will return again to Babylon with a new king will rise to power bringing about redemption and salvation to the city, taking it back from the Elamites and restoring the Ekursagila temple. Where the Marduk Prophecy is concerned, King Nabu-kudurri-uṣur (Nebuchadnezzar), who reigned from 1125 to 1103 B.C.E. is accepted as being the king who returns Marduk’s statue to Babylon and is victorious over the Elamites.
The main importance of the Marduk Prophecy text is to highlight the necessity of the patron deity staying in Babylon. Each time that the Marduk statue (Marduk himself) is abducted, chaos falls on the city of Babylon while the places where the statue resides, prosper.
Like some epic game of football where the opposing team comes and steals the home team’s mascot to weaken their morale.
Propaganda?
No! Say it isn’t so!
Remember the previously mentioned King Nebuchadnezzar? It’s been noted that the dates of when the Marduk Prophecy (1 millennium B.C.E.) and even the Enuma Elish both date to around the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule and reign between 1125-1103 B.C.E. It makes him look good for restoring order (his defeat of the Elamites and bringing Marduk’s statue back) that he’s the prophesied king come to do Marduk’s will.
Jupiter – Roman
With Marduk’s position and role as the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon, the Romans equated him with Jupiter, the head of their pantheon.
Zeus – Greek
With Marduk’s position and role as the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon, the Greeks equated him with Zeus, the head of their pantheon.
Bel – Babylonian
Yes, Bel is previously mentioned earlier as one of Marduk’s fifty names.
He is mentioned as being a separate deity here as in the 1 millennium B.C.E., by the time we get to this era of history, as a title, Bel is the name that other deities Enlil and Dumuzid, not just Marduk have been known by.
Taken separately, Bel holds all the titles and aspects that Enlil did. To the point that Bel eventually becomes a god of order and destiny. Even Greek historians mentioned Bel in their writings. As a separate deity, Bel was the god of order and destiny. Both Marduk and Bel’s cults were similar, so it’s not hard to see how Bel becomes absorbed and an epitaph for Marduk.
Bel and the Dragon – This is a Jewish story and apocryphal addition to the Book of Daniel in which the Babylonians offer a substantial amount of food and wine every day to an idol of Bel. This vast quantity of food seemingly, miraculously disappears each night. This is enough to convince the Persian king Cyrus the Great that the idol is alive, and he tells Daniel this.
Daniel being a wise man and rather smart knows this isn’t the case. Afterall Daniel says it’s clay on the inside and bronze outside. It likely has never eaten anything. To prove this, Daniel discreetly covers the floor of the temple with ash.
Both Daniel and Cyrus leave for the night. When they return in the morning, Daniel is able to point out the footprints left behind, thus proving that it is the seventy priests of Bel who are eating the food, not the idol.
Biblical Connections
Some scholars point out that the name Bel is derived from the Semitic word “Baal” that has the same meaning of “Lord.” There are several places within the Bible where Bel is mentioned, this more than likely referencing Marduk. The Hebrew version of Marduk’s name, Merodach is found in many places in the Bible as a surname for non-Israeli kings.
Continuing this trend for Biblical Connections, Marduk and a couple other Mesopotamian and Canaanite deities are made mention of in the Torah or Old Testament.
Thanks to Cyrus the Great of Persia, when he captured Babylon, he reversed the policies of the previous ruler by calling for the rebuilding of temples and reinstating religions that had been destroyed or banned before.
Where the Bible (Torah) is concerned, Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple to Yahweh. Cyrus records inspiration for this as coming from Marduk. The bible will say that it is Yahweh who inspired Cyrus.
The “Cyrus Cylinder” found in 1879 at Babylon records the following: “Marduk, the great Lord, established as his fate for me a magnanimous heart of one who loves Babylon, and I daily attended to his worship… I returned the images of the gods, who had resided there [in Babylon], to their places; and I let them dwell in eternal abodes. I gathered all their inhabitants and returned to them their dwellings… at the command of Marduk.”
In the Book of Ezra 5:13 this event is recorded: “In the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.”
The Book of Isaiah is where Yahweh is given credit for inspiring Cyrus.
“I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.
He will rebuild my city
and set my exiles free” (Isaiah 45:13)
The connections don’t end there, Biblical scholars see a similar theme with Marduk’s slaying Tiamat with the Canaanite story of Baal slaying Tannin and notably Yahweh’s defeating the giant sea monster Leviathan in Psalm 74: 13-14 or a future time in Isaiah 27:1.
The previously mentioned Etemenanki temple is thought to be the inspiration for the Tower of Babel. Babylon’s destruction is prophesied in the book of Jeremiah (50:2).
Who do you accept? It’s a matter of two different religions, cultures and perspectives. Of course, it’s easy, after the fact, to say there was divine intervention and that it is all prophesied.
Sitchin Time
According to Zecharia Sitchin, the claim is made that the great battle between Tiamat and Marduk is symbolic for the creation of our solar system’s asteroid belt. Sitchin writes that this asteroid belt was once a planet that the Sumerians called Tiamat. Due to an impact, the planet was destroyed, creating the “Great Band” or asteroid belt. The planetary impact responsible is that of the planet Nibiru, associated with the god Marduk.
Babylonian Astronomy, Astrology & Zodiac
I will call bunk on Sitchin’s ideas.
When you look at the word Nibiru in the Akkadian language, it refers to a crossing or transition points like with rivers. In Babylonian astronomy, Nibiru came to refer to the Equinox, notably, the Autumn Equinox. In their star lore, the term nibiru can refer to any crossing. Tracking the movement of the stars and planets in the heavens as they appear from Earth. The star or planet associated with Marduk is the one we know modernly as Jupiter.
For the Babylonians, the Autumn Equinox occurred in the month of Tisritum, roughly coinciding with between September and October. If we’re following the Greek Zodiac, then the constellation of Libra is prominent. A further fun fact, depending on the time of the year and the location of the planet Mercury, it could sometimes be called Nibiru.
Some of it is confusing. Mainly it’s understanding how to read and interpret what the Babylonians meant when tracking the night sky.
It should come as no surprise, that as old as the Mesopotamian cultures and religions are, that they would have mapped out the night sky to mark the turning of the seasons, creating a calendar. Many of these early constellations and zodiacs were adopted by the later Greeks who incorporated the constellations into their own mythology.
In Babylonian beliefs, it is Marduk who creates the astrological calendar and mapped out the different signs of the Zodiac. Marduk would be identified with the planet Jupiter, who of course is later equated with the Greek Zeus and renamed for the Roman deity Jupiter as all three are heads of their respective pantheons.
Cetus – Greek Mythology & Constellation
While many are familiar with the constellation’s connection to the Grecian story of Andromeda and Perseus in its role as the giant sea monster sent by Poseidon to destroy the coast of Aethiopia.
The constellation of Cetus has been identified with Tiamat, the dragon goddess of Chaos. Marking Tiamat’s story one of many that the Greeks likely inherited from the Mesopotamians and retold for their legends.
Baba Yaga
Alternate Spelling: Баба Яга (Russian)
Other names: Baba Cloanta (“Old Hag with Broken Teeth,” Romanian), Baba Jaga (Czech, Slovak, Polish), Baba Jaha, Baba-Jahinia, Baba Roga, Baba Ruta, Baba Yaha, Baba Yaga Kostianaya Noga (“bone legs”), Babcia (“grandmother” Polish), Babushka (Russian), Baka (Croatian), Boba (Lithuanian), Jezi-Baba, Yaga-Baba, Bobbe Yakhne (Yiddish), Ježibaba (Czech & Slovak), Vasorrú (“iron-nosed”)
Etymology: Baba means an elderly woman or grandmother, Yaga is uncertain, but may likely come the words: “jeza” meaning: horror, shudder or chill, “jezinka” for an evil wood nymph or dryad, “jeze” meaning: witch, “jedza” another word meaning: witch, fury or evil woman and lastly, “jeza” meaning: anger or disease and illness.
At its heart, the stories of Baba Yaga are used in Russian and Slavic folklore as a legendary bogeyman type monster to scare little children into behaving. Depending on your source, there is either just the one, terrifying Baba Yaga or there are several.
What’s In A Name?
In the Slavic languages, Baba Yaga’s name is understood to be composed of two parts. The first part of her name, Baba is generally understood to mean an elderly woman or grandmother. The second part of her name, Yaga is thought to be from a Proto-Slavic word “eg” and likely related to a Lithuanian word of “ingis” meaning: lazybones or sluggard. Other suggested words are the Old Norse word of “ekki” meaning pain and the Old English word of “inca” for doubt, scruple, grievance, and quarrel. Yaga might also derive from the feminine name of “Jadwiga.”
A Sergei V. Rjabchikov suggests that Yaga derives from the word Aga meaning: “Fiery” or “cauldron” saying that it refers to a solar deity of the Scythians and Sarmatians. Mainly as the suggestion connects Aga as a cognate to the Sanskrit word “agni” meaning: “fire” which is also the name of a fire god. Other cognate words that get linked are the Russian word “ogon” for fire and the Ossetic word “ag” for cauldron. Another scholar, Alexander Afanasyey proposes the ides of a proto-Slavic word “ož” and the Sanskrit word ahi for serpent may be a source for where the word Yaga comes from.
The earliest references to Baba Yaga, or “Yaga-Baba” is found in the “Of the Russe Common Wealth” by Giles Fletcher, the Elder. As “Yaga-Baba” she is found in the section for Permyaks, Samoyeds and Lopars where a Finno-Ugric influence is suggested.
Depending on the region and local dialect, Baba Yaga is known by slightly different names. In the Czech, Slovak and Polish regions, she’s called Baba Jaga, though Jezibaba is also used. In the Slovene language, the name is reversed to Jaga Baba. Where the term Jaga is concerned, there are numerous variations from different Slavic languages that connect it to the word jeza meaning: “horror,” “shudder,” and “chill.” There is the Slovian word jeza for “anger” and then the Old Czech word of jeze for “witch” or any legendary evil female being. The modern Czech word of jezinka refers to any evil nymph or dryad.
In Belarussia, Bulgarian, Russia and Ukraine, the names Baba Yaga and Baba Jaga are both used. Belarusia and Ukraine both have variant spellings of Baba Yaha and Baba Jaha. In the South Slavic languages of Bosnia Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia, she is known as Baba Roga. Finally, the Romanians, even though they’re not Slavic, know of her as Baba Cloanta, which roughly translates to “the Old Hag with Broken Teeth.”
Suffice to say, Baba is well known, revered, respected and feared. So much so, that some will say that Baba is the Devil’s own Grandmother. In Russian, Baba can sometimes get used as pejorative for women and men who are seen as unmanly, too timid and lack character. In the Polish language, the term Baba is also a pejorative as it can refer to a particularly nasty or ugly woman.
Description
The descriptions of Baba Yaga vary from region to region. Most are very similar in that she is a small, ugly old woman who’s very fierce or an ogress. Consistent details include mentioning her long nose and long teeth, long bony legs. Whichever details let a person know how hideous to look upon that Baba Yaga is and there’s no mistaking her for anyone else. She is a cannibalistic witch who lives in a hut in the forest. Where most witches of folklore are said to ride brooms, Baba Yaga is known for flying around in a mortar & pestle, using a broom made of silver birch to sweep away any traces of her passage. Much like the Wild Hunt, a host of spirits followed after Baba, these are most likely the spirits of her victims.
Aging: Baba Yaga is said to age one year for every question that she is asked, which, given that, could explain why she is often reluctant to help any who cross paths with her. With a tea made from a special blend of blue roses, Baba Yaga is able to undo the effects of this aging.
Chicken Hut: Baba’s Chicken Hut is notable as it walks and moves around chicken legs. The hut will move when Baba recites a specific rhyme. The keyhole to the door is a mouth full of sharp teeth. Sometimes this door will open with the following phrase: “Turn your back to the forest, your front to me.” When the house has roosted for the day, a fence with the skulls of Baba’s victims surrounds the hut.
Mortar & Pestle: Where most witches use a broom to fly around on, Baba rides around in a giant mortar & pestle, the same mortar & pestle that she can use to grind the bones of her victims then and there.
Servants: Baba will often be served by invisible servants inside her hut. If any ask about the servants, Baba is known to kill them.
Three Riders: Usually found in the Russian folklore, Baba can be associated with three riders, each of whom rides a different colored horse. White is the Day; Red is the Sun and Black is the Night. If any ask about who the riders are, Baba will explain who they are.
Hungarian Folklore
In the folklore and tales from Hungary, Baba Yaga began as a fairy, a good fairy. With the procession of time, she becomes a witch, one who drives a hard bargain and threatens to eat those who fail to uphold their ends of agreements.
Polish Folklore
Many Polish stories featuring witches often name them Baba Jaga. Much like the Brothers Grimm story of Hansel and Gretal, these Baba Jaga sometimes live in Gingerbread huts. When Baba Jaga’s hut isn’t described as being made of Gingerbread, it will be described as having only one chicken leg it moves around on.
Baba Jaga also flies around on a mop instead of a broom or in a flying mortar and pestle. She is further described wearing a black and red striped cloth that hails from Swietokrzyskie Mountains. For those wanting a bit of further trivia, this cloth is a symbol of the Kielce region and has a connection with a legendary witches sabbath on the Lysa Gora mountain.
Russian Folklore
This is the folklore that I at least was familiar with and knew Baba Yaga to hail from. It is these tales that the fearsome Baba Yaga flies through the air in flying mortar and pestle. The stories where the protagonists will discover Baba’s House that walks or dances on giant chicken legs. A house surrounded by a fence made of human bones with skulls on the posts. The keyhole of the front door is a mouth full of teeth.
Slavic Folklore
In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga is often the antagonist of many tales. Often, she is sought by other characters who come seeking her for wisdom. Rarer is when Baba will offer guidance to wayward travelers and souls.
Dark Nature Spirit
There have been numerous, various folklore and tales about Baba Yaga over the years. Her tales often show her as a dangerous antagonist while other times she is just a tad more benevolent where she will help out others on their quests while devouring others instead. Given the location of where Baba Yaga is likely encountered most, it is out in the dark forests where she would easily represent the more wild, unknown and unpredictable force of nature.
In some stories, like Vasilissa the Beautiful, the heroine likely crosses over into the Otherworld when she is tasked by her stepsisters to go and get more light from Baba Yaga. Later traditions say that when meeting with Baba Yaga, one needs to prepare themselves spiritually and have a proper purity of spirit in order to survive an encounter with her.
Faerie – The Hungarian connection of Baba Yaga as a fairy really seems to fit given that the fae operates by rules. Baba Yaga strikes a bargain with Vasilissa the Beautiful who comes to get some fire from her in exchange for some labor. The old crone can’t hurt or eat Vasilissa so long as she full-fills her tasks and gets everything done. In the end, because Vasilissa has the aid and blessing of her mother, Baba Yaga sends the girl away. Just as many fae are known to have a trickster side to them, Baba Yaga displays hers, however dark with the skull she gives Vasilissa that burns up her stepfamily in flames. One can also argue that’s Baba Yaga acting as a bit of a dark fairy godmother to Vasilissa to aid her like that. But a bargain’s a bargain and many fairy gifts do often come with a price that’s up to the recipient to decide if that was a curse or blessing.
Good Witch Or Bad Witch? – Whether Baba Yaga will be helpful or try to eat someone really depends on the story told of her and what era of folklore for ancient or more modern. The ancient stories really home in on her dangerous nature and that she does eat people. More modern stories that feature Baba Yaga will still show her dangerous side, but as someone who’s mellowed with time, she seems to take on a more helpful nature.
More Than One? – As a supernatural being, some stories will mention a trio of sisters or witches who are all Baba Yaga, much like the idea of three fates? The good news is, that when Baba is encountered as three individuals, they’re much more likely to be benign and helpful.
Family – Some folktales will mention Baba Yaga having a daughter, sometimes she is given the name, Marinka.
Similar Folkloric Figures
There’s a number of other figures from myth and folklore of Europe that may have some cultural influence from the Eastern Slavic people’s beliefs or just the fact that similar ideas and concepts will pop up no matter what.
Baba Korizma – Serbian
Baba Pehtra – Slovenian
Baba Roga – From Croatia and Bosnia, she is used to scare children into behaving. The name Roga suggests that she has horns.
Babice – Serbian
Chlungeri – Switzerland
Gorska Maika – The Forest Mother of Bulgaria.
Gvozdenzuba – Meaning “Iron Tooth,” Serbian
Holda – Or Holle from Germany
Jezibaba –Western Slavic, she is very similar in function to Baba Yaga, though her appearance and specific stories differ from the Eastern Slavic stories.
Mama Padurii – Forest Mother, Romanian
Perchta – Alpine region
Sumska Majka – The Forest Mother, Serbian
Ancient Slavic Earth Goddess
That’s very likely possibility given the strong connections of her as a fairy in Hungarian folklore and her connection as a dark, wild and unpredictable force of nature. She could be connected to an ancient matriarchal religion. Some sources have said that the Baba part of her name connects her as being female and that there could very well be a male counterpart to her.
There are also scholars who suggest that Baba Yaga is influenced by the Eastern Slavic people’s contact with the Finno-Ugric and Siberian people. The Finnish stories have an ogress by the name of Syöjätär who is the source of diseases and in stories, she often takes the role of a wicked mother. Contrasting with Syöjätär is Akka, a female fertility spirit or deity found in Estonian, Finnish and Sami mythology and shamanism.
The first distinct references to Baba Yaga or Iaga Baba appear in 1755 with Mikhail V. Lomonosov’s Rossiiskaia Grammatika (Russian Grammar). In this book, Baba Yaga is mentioned a couple times alongside other Slavic figures and traditions. The second mention has her in a list of Slavic deities and their assigned, roman syno-deities.
Feminist Icon
It’s no wonder, after looking into the folklore and mythology behind Baba Yaga, that in many Wiccan and Modern Pagan practices and even those who aren’t would seek to reclaim and take Baba Yaga back as a feminist icon. When incoming Christianity couldn’t tame Baba Yaga, they vilified her.
After all, centuries of persecution by Christian beliefs and she has endured in the imaginations and of those who examine her stories; see the quintessential, untamed wild old woman who does as she pleases with no one to tell her otherwise. Baba Yaga is a fierce, dark force of magic, who when approached with caution, can help or destroy.
Triple Goddess
In New Age and Wiccan practices, Baba Yaga fits very easily with the role of the Crone.
Baba Yaga In Folklore
There are a lot of stories in Slavic and Russian folklore that feature Baba Yaga, so much so, she is considered a stock character by authors of modern Russian fairy tales. There are whole articles and commentary that go into exploring Baba Yaga’s role and place in folklore as sometimes, she’s not always an antagonist or even protagonist, she’s a feature or obstacle that the heroes must overcome and get past on their journey. Is she a threat? Does she really prove helpful as a dark and dangerous fairy godmother or guide?
She does seem to come off as a trickster figure, one who can often be bested and outwitted by use of trickery and using her own sense of propriety and rules for manners and etiquette to escape her.
With her continued use in more modern, contemporary literature and media, Baba Yaga’s nature at times, depending on the needs of the narrative and author, her demeanor can soften, though she’ll remind people she can still be very dangerous.
Vasilissa The Beautiful
This is perhaps the most well-known story with Baba Yaga that was recorded by Alexander Afanasyeye in 1862. It begins as any story does, with a merchant who had married for twelve years before he and his wife were able to conceive and have a baby, a little girl whom he called Vasilissa the Beautiful.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck, and the mother became ill when Vasilissa was eight years old. Before she died, Vasilissa’s mother called her daughter to her bedside where she presented her Vasilissa with a small wooden doll. The mother explained that she was dying and that she was leaving her this little doll. She was not to show anyone this doll and to always be sure to carry it with her everywhere she went. If ever she had any sorrow or threat to her, Vasilissa was to go to a corner and take the doll from her pocket, giving it an offering of food or drink. Once it had drunk or eaten, Vasilissa would then able to tell the doll her troubles and it would aid her or give advice on what to do. With that, the mother kissed Vasilissa on the head and died soon after.
That first day, Vasilissa grieved for her mother’s loss. So much so, that when night finally came, she couldn’t sleep. As she lay there in her bed, Vasilissa remembered the tiny doll and pulled it out from her pocket. Then she found a small piece of bread and something to drink, these Vasillisa placed before the doll, saying: “There, my little doll, take it. Eat a little, and drink a little, and listen to my grief. My dear mother is dead, and I am lonely for her.”
The doll came to life, its eyes glowing as it ate a bit of bread and took a sip of drink. When the doll had finished, it told Vasilissa not to cry, that grief can be at its strongest during the night. That she should lay down and try to sleep for in the morning things would be better. Vasilissa did as the doll advised her and went to sleep and found that in the morning, her grief as not as deep and sorrowful as before.
After a period of mourning, Vasilissa’s father decided that it was right to marry again. Being a merchant, it wasn’t difficult for him to find and attract a suitable wife given his status with having a fine house, horses and his charity for giving to the poor. The merchant found a widow close to his own age with two daughters and thought that she would make for a good foster mother to his own little Vasilissa.
Such was not the case, as many of these stories show, the widow was a cruel and cold-hearted woman who only wanted the merchant’s wealth. Nor, did the widow harbor any love for Vasilissa.
Take a page right out of Cinderella, the widow and her two daughters envied and hated Vasilissa for her good looks and gave her all manner of tasks and errands to run in an effort to try and were Vasilissa out. Despite this, Vasilissa persisted, never complaining of what happened to her.
The key to Vasilissa’s success and enduring where others might have failed, is that she still had the little doll. Every night, while everyone else slept, Vasilissa would bring out the doll, while locking her door, she would feed the little doll. After the doll had eaten and drunk a little, Vasilissa would tell the doll of her troubles and the work her stepmother would task her to do.
After the doll came to life and listened to the girl’s plea, it would comfort Vasilissa and send her off to sleep. While she slept, the doll would perform all of the tasks set before Vasilissa and get all of her work and chores are done for the next day. This wouldn’t leave much left come the next morning for Vasilissa to do besides rest and play.
Time passed and Vasilissa grew up, becoming a beautiful young woman of marrying age. All the young, would-be suitors in the village came knocking, seeking out Vasilissa’s hand in marriage. None of the young men ever had an eye for the stepmother’s two daughters. This angered the stepmother to the point of being enraged. The stepmother would tell every young man who arrived at their door that the youngest would never be wed before the older ones. When the young man left, the stepmother would then beat and berate Vasilissa.
More time passed and Vasilissa’s father, the merchant left for a business trip. Barely was the father gone when no sooner did the stepmother have the house sold and packed everything up so they could move to the far side of the village near the dark forest. While the stepsisters worked indoors, the stepmother would task Vasilissa with more errands that would take her out into the dark woods.
The plot thickens!
The stepmother it seems was well aware that out in this dark forest, in a small clearing, Baba Yaga’s hut could be found. The stepmother had high hopes that Vasilissa would encounter the old witch that was known to eat people. She hoped that with each errand, it would be Vasilissa’s last as she would get eaten. Such was not to be, for the little doll of Vasilissa’s would guide her to where the berries and flowers grew and kept her well away from Baba Yaga’s hut.
One night, the stepmother brought all three girls together and tasked each of them with a job. To one of her daughters, they were to knit a piece of lace. The second daughter was to knit a pair of hose. As for Vasilissa, she was to spin a basket of flax. The tasks given out; the stepmother proceeded to put out all of the fires except for one candle before then heading off to sleep.
The girls worked for hours. The older of the girls eventually got up and went to straighten the wick on the lone candle. Instead of straightening the wick, the girl “accidentally” put the candle out. Now the girls panicked, for what would they do without any light to work by? The only house close enough to get a light from was that of Baba Yaga’s. The two daughters of the stepmother bade that Vasilissa be the one to go out and get the much-needed fire as she knew the nearby forest better. Nor, would the girls allow Vasilissa to return to the house without any light or flame.
Out a distraught Vasilissa went and sat on the front steps of the house. She pulled the small doll from her pocket and some food from the other. As she gave the food to the doll, saying: “There, my little doll, take it. Eat a little and listen to my sorrow. I must go out to the hut of Baba Yaga in the dark forest to get some fire and I fear that she will eat. Tell me! What shall I do?”
The doll came to life, eyes glowing as it ate. When it had finished, the doll replied that Vasilissa should not fear, to go to where she had been sent and that while he was with her, no harm would come to her from the witch. Hearing those words, Vasilissa placed the doll back in her pocket and headed out into the forest.
After a time, walking through the dark forest, Vasilissa soon heard the sound of horse hooves pounding the ground and shortly after, a white horse and rider dressed all in white passed by her. Soon as rider and horse were gone, it became twilight.
Vasilissa continued further on and again, she heard the sound of horse hooves pounding the ground as presently, another horse and rider passed by her. This horse and rider were blood-red and once they had gone, the sun arose.
On, Vasilissa continued her journey within the Dark Forest and it became very clear that she was now lost and there was no longer a path to follow. Nor, was there any food for Vasilissa to take out and bring the little doll to life to ask for help or advice.
Finally, as the evening came, Vasilissa found herself standing before a green lawn where a peculiar hut stood on chicken legs. Around the hut, a wall made of human bones with skull atop each post. It was a very unsettling sight for Vasilissa to take in.
While standing there, Vasilissa once more heard the sound of horse hooves and sure enough, a third horse and rider thundered into view. This time horse and rider were all in black. As horse and rider pounded the ground up to the gate to the hut, they disappeared, and night fell upon the forest as everything became dark.
The only place not dark within the forest was the lawn as all the eyes of the skulls on the wall lit up, illuminating the place. Vasilissa didn’t have long to stare for a loud noise boomed from the forest as trees groaned and shift. The source of the noise was Baba Yaga flying in riding in a large mortar with a pestle steering it. As Baba Yaga moved through the forest, behind her, she swept her trail clear with a broom.
Up to the gate, Baba Yaga flew and stopped, reciting the following: “Turn your back to the forest, your front to me.”
With those words, the hut turned on its chicken legs, facing towards Baba Yaga and stood waiting. Before going in, Baba Yaga sniffed the air and cried out that she smelled someone present and asked he was there.
In fear, Vasilissa stepped out, bowing low before Baba Yaga. “It is only me, Vasilissa, grandmother.” And explained how the daughters of her stepmother bid her come to borrow some fire as it had gone out at home.
Baba Yaga knew of whom Vasilissa spoke off and bargained that if she gave her some fire, that she was to stay a while and work for it. If Vasilissa didn’t, then Baba Yaga would eat her. The bargain struck, Baba Yaga with Vasilissa following behind, entered the hut.
Once they were inside, Baba Yaga sat down on her stove and stretched out her skinny, bony legs as she spoke: “Go and fetch the table and place everything in the oven on it. I’m hungry!”
Hearing this, Vasilissa hurried and pulled out from the oven, enough cooked meat for three big men. Then Vasilissa brought out from the cellar, honey and red wine. All of this Baba Yaga ate and drank with gusto, leaving only a small bit of cabbage soup, a crust of bread and a bit of pork for Vasilissa to eat.
Her hunger satiated, Baba Yaga grew tired and went to lay down on the stove. Before falling asleep, she instructed Vasilissa that on the morrow, when she left, that Vasilissa was to clean the yard, sweep the floors and cook her supper. Vasilissa was then to take a quarter measure of wheat from Baba’s storehouse and pick out all of the black grains and wild peas. Failure to accomplish all of this would see Vasilissa eaten by Baba.
Now Baba Yaga turned over, facing towards the wall and promptly fell asleep as evidenced by the snores. Scared, Vasilissa went to a corner and took out her tiny doll from her pocket. She fed it a bit of bread and a little bit of cabbage soup that she had saved. Then, bursting into tears, Vasilissa told the doll to eat a little and drink a little and then told it how she was in the house of Baba Yaga, that the old witch had given her a difficult task and if she did not complete it all, that Baba Yaga would eat her. What was she to do?
The little doll’s eyes glowed as it came to life and ate the bread and drank the soup before it responded, telling Vasilissa not to be afraid. To say her prayers and go to sleep, that things would look clearer in the morning. Trusting her little doll, Vasilissa did as she was told and went to sleep.
The next morning, Vasilissa awoke early while it was yet dark. Peering out the window, she the skulls on the wall glowing still. As she continued to watch, Vasilissa saw a man dressed all in white ride away on a white horse ran past and as they pounded by, it became light. The glowing eyes of the skulls went out with the light. Baba Yaga went out to the yard and whistled for her giant iron mortar and pestle that came. Climbing in, Baba Yaga flew away. Shortly after she left, a man dressed all in red riding an equally red horse appeared, signaling fully the arrival of dawn.
Alone now, Vasilissa looked about the hut as she took in everything that had to be cleaned and all that she was tasked to do. As she turned attention back to the yard, Vasilissa was astonished to find the yard already clean along with the floors of the house when she looked back inside. Looking around, Vasilissa spotted her little doll sitting in the storehouse as it picked the last of the black grains and wild peas out from a quarter measure of wheat.
Vasilissa took up the little doll in arms to thank it. That now all she had to do was cook Baba Yaga’s supper. The little doll bid her to that task which Vasilissa did after the doll went back to her pocket. Laying out the table for supper and getting the meal ready, Vasilissa needed only to rest and wait the rest of the day.
As she waited, Vasilissa heard the sound of horse’s hooves and soon saw a rider all in black on a black horse ride up the gate and disappear. Once the black rider vanished, it became night and the eyes of the skulls began to glow. Not long after that, the forest began to shake and branches tremble as Baba Yaga flew back to hut.
On entering her hut, Baba Yaga looked around, sniffing the air. Baba Yaga then asked the girl if she had done all that was asked of her or was Baba Yaga going to get to eat her? Vasilissa replied for her to look.
Baba Yaga looked around the hut and yard. Try as she might, Baba Yaga was unable to find anything amiss which angered the old witch. Still, the tasks were done, and Baba Yaga clapped her hands together, calling for her faithful servants to take her wheat. Instantly, three pairs of hands appeared and hauled away the measure of wheat.
Then Baba Yaga sat down at the table as Vasilissa placed before her all the food that she had cooked along with kvass, honey and red wine. Baba Yaga ate with much gusto, enough for four men. Finished, Baba Yaga stretched out her bony legs on the stove and told Vasilissa that tomorrow, she was to the same as she had done today and in addition, that she was to take a half-measure of poppy seeds from the storehouse and clean them, one by one. It seems that someone mixed earth with the seeds to cause old Baba Yaga some mischief. With that, Baba Yaga turned over towards the wall and began to snore.
Just as she had the night before, Vasilissa crept to a corner to pull out her little doll. She once more placed a small bit of food before the doll to ask its advice. Like always, the doll’s eyes glowed as it came to life and ate. Finished, the doll replied for Vasilissa not to worry, to say her prayers as she had before and to sleep. Vasilissa did as she was bid and went to sleep.
The next morning, Vasilissa awoke to the sound of Baba Yaga’s whistling. Vasilissa got up and ran to the window, just in time to see the old witch take off in her giant mortar and pestle. Just as she had seen the day before, the man in red appeared on his horse, riding away to signal the dawn. Like the previous morning too, as Vasilissa looked around, she saw that all of the tasks had been accomplished by her doll and all that remained was to cook the supper.
Vasilissa had everything for dinner prepared and ready on the table when the man in black on his horse return to signal nighttime and Baba Yaga’s arrival. Baba Yaga came into her hut, peering around, seeing for herself that all the tasks and supper were accomplished. Angry, Baba Yaga clapped her hands, calling for her servants to come take the poppy seeds. Again, three pairs of hands appeared to take the measure of poppy seeds away.
Baba Yaga sat down at the table devouring the meal with the zeal and gusto of five men. Vasilissa stood nearby, quietly waiting as the old witch ate. The quietness annoyed Baba Yaga who snapped at the girl, asking why she stood there as if she were dumb.
Vasilissa replied that she didn’t dare speak, but if she was allowed, could she ask grandmother some questions.
Baba Yaga allowed it, cautioning Vasilissa to remember that not every question had good answers and that knowing too much could lead a person to prematurely growing old.
Vasilissa then inquired, asking about the white rider. Baba Yaga said that was her servant, Bright Day. Then Vasilissa asked about the red rider to which Baba Yaga responded that was her servant, the Red Sun. Lastly, Vasilissa asked about the black rider and Baba Yaga replied that was her servant, the Dark Night. That none of her servants couldn’t harm Vasilissa.
Going silent, Vasilissa sat there and Baba Yaga wanted the girl to ask more questions. Why not ask more? What about the three pairs of hands? Vasilissa answered that three questions were enough and that she did not want to grow old too soon if she knew too much.
Old Baba Yaga laughed and said that well for her if she had asked about the hands, they would have appeared and seized Vasilissa to carry away to become Baba Yaga’s next meal. Now that Vasilissa had asked her questions, Baba Yaga wanted to ask questions of her own.
Namely, how was it that Vasilissa had been able to accomplish all the tasks in the short time allotted. Frightened, Vasilissa nearly brought out her doll, but thought better of it in time, replying instead that she had the blessing of her dead mother helped her.
Enraged, Baba Yaga told Vasilissa to get out of her house, she would have no one in her house who bore a blessing to cross her threshold. As Vasilissa got up to leave, running from the house, Baba Yaga grabbed a skull from a post on her wall and threw it at the girl. Saying that she was to take the skull, that’s what the stepmother’s daughters had sent her for.
Grabbing up the skull, Vasilissa placed it on the end of a stick and carried it with her out of the forest, running as fast as she could. She ran until morning when the glow of the skull dimmed just as Vasilissa exited the edge of the forest before her stepmother’s house.
Surely, by now, Vasilissa thought, the sisters would have found another light. Vasilissa thought to throw the skull into the hedge, but it spoke saying not to throw it away, to take it to her stepmother. Vasilissa picked up the skull again and carried it with her to the house.
In all the time that Vasilissa had been gone, the stepmother and daughters had had no fire or light for all of the house. Whenever they would strike flint and steel, the tinder wouldn’t catch and any fire brought in from a neighbor’s would immediately out as soon as it crossed the threshold of the house. Such was the state of three to have no light or warmth for themselves or to cook food. This made it the first time that the presence of Vasilissa was ever welcomed for when she carried the skull across the threshold, it’s light did not go out.
The stepmother insisted on placing the skull in the best room on a candlestick. As the stepmother and her daughters admired it, the eyes of the skull began to glow red like coals. Whenever the three would look or go, the eyes of the skull would follow, growing larger and brighter until the eyes burned bright as a furnace, growing hotter and hotter so that the stepmother and her daughters burned to ashes. Only Vasilissa was spared this fate.
What every poor abused stepchild wants, freedom from the wicked stepparent and siblings.
The next morning, Vasilissa dug a hole and buried the skull and locked the door to the house. She then set out of the village where she went to live with an old woman who was childless. There, Vasilissa lived, waiting for her father’s return from his journey.
After a few days of nothing to do, Vasilissa asked the old woman for some flax to spin, that she could at least do. The old woman went out and got Vasilissa some flax of the best kind and Vasilissa sat down to spin. So fine was the thread, even and fine as hair, eventually there was enough to work with to weave. However, so fine was the thread that there was frame that could weave the thread.
As she had done before when needing help, Vasilissa took out her little doll and giving it food and drink, told it of her need for a frame to weave her thread on. As always, the little doll came to life, eating and drink and when it had finished, it instructed Vasilissa to bring it an old frame, an old basket and some hairs from a horse’s mane and that it would make the frame needed. Vasilissa did as she was instructed, getting all the items and bringing them back.
The next morning, Vasilissa found a frame suited for the needs of weaving her thread on. It would take Vasilissa several months work weaving, throughout the winter, until she had at last a piece of linen as fine that it could be passed like the thread it was made of through the eye of a needle. Spring came and Vasilissa bleached the linen, making it as white as snow. Vasilissa then bid the old woman take the linen to market and sell it for the money made would pay for her food and lodging. The old woman returned from the market, saying that no one would buy the linen and that no one would wear it except for the Tsar himself. That tomorrow, she would carry it to the Palace.
The next day came and the old woman carried it to the Palace, and she spent her time walking up and down the walkways of the Palace. Servants would come up and ask her what brought her to the Palace and the old woman would say nothing. Presently enough, the Tsar opened his window and called down to the old woman what she wanted.
The old woman replied that she had a marvelous piece of linen and that she would show it to no one but him. The Tsar bid the servants bring the old woman in who showed off the linen to him. The Tsar was so taken with the finery and beauty of the cloth that he asked the old woman what she wanted for it. The old woman replied that there was no price for it, it had been brought as a gift. So pleased was the Tsar that he couldn’t thank her enough and sent the old woman away with many gifts.
Numerous seamstresses were brought in to make shirts for the Tsar out of the marvelous cloth, but they found that when it was cut up, that none of them had skill to sew it. The Tsar found himself calling the old woman back, saying that if she knew how to spin such linen, surely, she would know how to sew shirts from it.
At this, the old woman confessed that it wasn’t her who wove the cloth, but her adopted daughter who had done so. The Tsar bid the old woman to bring the cloth back to her daughter to sew into shirts. Bringing the cloth home, Vasilissa replied that it was just as well that she be the one to sew the shirts as she made the cloth.
Vasilissa took the cloth and went to her room where she returned later with a dozen shirts for the Tsar. The old woman brought all of these back to the Tsar who was so delighted with the craftsmanship that he sent a servant to fetch Vasilissa and bring her back to the Palace.
For the Tsar, it was love at first sight when he saw Vasilissa enter his Palace. So beautiful was Vasilissa that the Tsar asked her to marry him. The two wed and shortly after, Vasilissa’s father returned from his journey and he and the old woman went to live with Vasilissa in the Palace. As for the little doll, Vasilissa kept it with her always in her pocket all her life.
Christianized Version –
There is a Christianized version of this story where, when Vasilissa is sent off to Baba Yaga and ends up being captured by the old witch, it is Baba Yaga’s servants, a cat, a dog, a gate and a tree that all help Vasilissa escape her fate as she had shown them each kindness. At the end of this story, Baba Yaga turns into a crow.
Baba Yaga And The Peasant Children
This is a story I came across that is very similar to the Christianized version of Vasilissa’s story above. It also, after I finished reading it, that it sounds a lot like the Brothers Grimm story of Hansel and Gretel. You go over to Poland and these Gingerbread dwelling witches are all over the place.
The story starts off with two children who have a cruel stepmother. One day, the stepmother decides she no longer wants the children and contrives a way to send them off into the forest to get lost and eaten by the infamous Baba Yaga.
The children do find their way into Baba Yaga’s clutches and while there, they are able to escape her cannibalistic nature first from a black cat who helps them as they had fed it when Baba Yaga wouldn’t. Secondly, the children are aided by the gate slamming shut on Baba to slow her down because the children had mended the gate when Baba Yaga had neglected it. Finally, the very trees of the forest aid the children in evading Baba Yaga due to how she had mistreated them. The children are able to get home safely where their father kicks out the stepmother and welcomes his children home.
Prince Danila-Govorila
This is another story involving Baba Yaga that I came across and it reads in many ways, like a modern horror story. In it, there is an old woman who’s a princess and she had two children, a son and daughter. Entering the story is an old witch, Baba Yaga who doesn’t want the woman or her children to be happy. She turns into a fox and appears before the woman, presenting her with a ring and tells her that the ring is for her son, that he will be rich and generous, and he can only marry the woman whose finger will also fit the ring.
The old woman or princess believes the fox has given her a blessed gift and bestows it on her son. Time goes by and the son grows up and he beings to look for the woman whose finger will fit the ring. He finds many women whom he likes and fancies, but none of them are able to wear the ring. At long last, the son, Danila laments to his sister Katerina how he is unable to find a wife as no one is able to wear the ring.
Katerina asks to see the ring and Danila pulls it out. As it’s a ring, Katerina does the most natural thing and tries it on. To both siblings’ astonishment, the ring fits and Danila declares that Katerina is meant to be his wife. This can’t be so Katerina cries out, that’s incest and against God’s will. But Danila is so elated he runs off dancing and singing.
Katerina goes outside to cry her misfortune and as she does so, some elderly woman pass by and ask her what the matter is. They listen to her story and tell Katerina not to worry. Make four dolls and places them in the corners of her room. When Danila calls her to marriage, she should go and when it’s time to go to the bedroom, take her time. That Katerina should put her faith and trust in God to work things out.
Katerina does as she’s advised with making the dolls and placing them. Soon after, she and her brother are married. That night, when Danila called her to bed, Katerina took her time with getting ready and heading to bed.
This is where it gets to sounding like a horror story, as Danila is calling for Katerina, the dolls come to life, calling out how Prince Danila is marrying his sister and taking her to bed, for the earth to open up and Katerina to fall inside.
The more Danila calls, the more the dolls cry out, the more the earth opens up beneath Katrina and she sinks down within it. Eventually Danila can’t hear Katerina responding and he rushes into the room where she was supposed to be getting ready for bed. Only he finds the dolls calling out for the earth to open up and sister fall inside and there’s no sign of his sister. Danila flies into a rage and chops off the heads of all the dolls.
Meanwhile, Katerina finds herself beneath the earth and eventually she comes across a small hut that stands on chicken legs. A voice calls out from within for the hut to: “stand as before, rear to the forest and face before me.” The chicken hut turns, and Katerina is greeted to the sight of a beautiful maiden sitting alone inside.
The maiden invites Katerina inside to visit for a while. The maiden warns Katerina that her mother is a witch and when she shows up, she needs to hide. However much this frightened Katerina and with nowhere else to go, she went inside to visit and talk with the maiden as she knitted and made a wedding towel.
I can see where this is going…
The maiden knows when her mother will return, and she turns Katerina into a needle that she hides in her broom. No sooner done, then in comes the old witch who declares that it smells of a Russian having been in the hut.
The maiden says that some passersby had come through, looking for water. When the old witch asks why the maiden didn’t hold them, the maiden says that they were too old and tough for the old witch’s teeth.
The old witch instructs the maiden to call people into the yard and to keep them there next time. Now she was going to head off and get some booty. The old witch leaves and the two girls resume their talking and laughing.
The old witch returns again, Katerina is turned into a needle once more before she enters the house and the maiden tells a story to her mother how she couldn’t detain and keep the people there.
Third times the charm and the old witch isn’t fooled, she takes off again, but doesn’t go far for just when the girls are back to their antics of laughing and talking, where Katerina will hide this time and what story to use, the old witch enters the hut, revealing herself to be Baba Yaga to the frightened Katerina.
Delighted that her daughter has finally caught dinner, Baba Yaga tries unsuccessfully to get Katerina to sit on a paddle to be placed in the oven. Katerina makes it difficult as she keeps moving her legs to keep from getting pushed in. Baba Yaga is angered and when she tries to push Katerina in, the maiden takes her opportunity and instead, shoves her mother into the oven.
As the two girls ran, Baba Yaga got free of the oven and chased after them. First, the maiden threw down her brush that turned into a marsh that Baba Yaga had difficulty crawling through. On the girls ran with Baba Yaga still giving chase. Now the maiden tossed down her comb and a dark, thick forest sprang up that slowed down the old witch, causing Baba Yaga to lose sight of the two for a time.
Eventually, she was nearly caught up with the girls and the maiden now threw down her towel which turned into a vast fiery lake. Baba Yaga tried to fly up over this fiery lake, no matter how high Baba Yaga flew, the heat of the lake got to her and she plunged to a fiery death.
The two girls made it back to the world above but didn’t have any idea of where they were at. As they sat to rest, catching their breath, a man came up to the two. Both Katerina and the maiden were very alike in appearance and the man knew that they both matched the description of the missing Prince’s sister and wife, Katerina.
Finding themselves getting brought before Prince Danila so he could figure out which was his sister, Katerina refused to speak a word. As they couldn’t get either girl to speak, the man who was a servant of Danila’s came up with a plan to have the Prince hide a bladder full of blood under an arm, he, the servant would come up and stab him and that would get the sister to speak and thus reveal herself.
The plan is put into motion, the Prince with blood bladder under his clothing comes back out. The servant goes to stab the Prince. The Prince falls down as if dead, Katerina cries out in fright and goes up to hold the body of her brother, only to find, surprise! He’s not dead. Danila hugs his sister and marries her off to a good man and he decides to marry the maiden as the ring he has fits her finger too.
And I find that ending very wow? All that work and Katerina and the maiden are both married off like property, the Prince is reward for…pretending to die and takes the friend who shows up seemingly out of nowhere.
However that’s not the scope of retelling these stories, just that they’re ones that feature Baba Yaga that I came across and showcase her as a very scary, unpredictable being, whom with a bit of luck, cunning, one’s own magic or minding manners when dealing with someone very old, they can survive an encounter with Baba Yaga.
More Stories
I could go on for quite a while trying to give quick run-through of all the different folktales involving Baba Yaga, there are just that many. It would be my luck to still miss one or two. She even continues into the present day with continued use in literature and media.
At the very least, I can try to mention some of these other stories. There is: “The Feather of Finist the Falcon,” this is one story where the hero meets up with three Baba Yagas. There is also “Teryoshechka”, “The Enchanted Princess,” “The Silver Saucer and the Red Apple,” “The Maiden Tsar,” “The Tale of the Three Royal Divas”, “Ivashka, The Priest’s Son,” “Baba Yaga and Zamoryshek,” “By Command of the Prince Daniel,” “Marya Moryevna,” “Realms of Copper, Silver and Gold,” “The Sea Tsar and Vasilisa the Wise,” and “Legless Knight and Blind Knight.”
Reality Behind The Myth
The description of Baba Yaga’s hut that stands on chicken legs, with no windows or doors, likely has a place in the local cultures of the Siberian region. Similarly built cabins and huts have been observed with the early hunter-nomadic peoples of Siberia (namely the Finno-Ugric) and Tungusic families. To keep wild animals from getting into food supplies while they have gone, they built cabins with no doors or windows up on supports from trees. From a distance, these supports with the tree roots still attached would look like chicken legs. The only access to these huts would be by way of a trap door.
Siberian Paganism
Smaller, similar constructs were used in the old Siberian pagan religion to hold figurines of their deities. The idea has put forth of a late matriarchy where a bone-carved doll dressed in rags is placed in a small cabin that the doll can barely fit in.
The last idea is a funeral tradition used for cremating the dead in huts built on poles. Russian archaeologists, Yefimenko and Tretyakov found small huts containing the cremated remains of corpses and circular fences places around them in 1948.
Ops
Etymology: “Plenty”
Pronunciation: AHP-s
Other names: Rhea, Opiconsivia, Opis
Other Names and Epithets: Ops Consiva, Ops the Sower, Ops Opifera
Etymology: “Plenty”
Originally from Sabine, Ops is the Roman Fertility and Earth-Goddess of the harvest, bounty and wealth. Her place in Roman mythology would directly lift from Greek mythology with the Earth Goddess Rhea.
Attributes
Animal: Lions
Element: Earth
Month: August
Plant: Grains
Sphere of Influence: Abundance, Agriculture, Fertility
Symbols: Bread, Cornucopia, Crown, Seeds, Tambourine
Sabine Origins
King Titus of Sabine is who created a cult dedicated to Ops where in a short time she would come to be seen as a goddess of plenty, wealth, riches and abundance, both for an individual level and for the nation of Sabine. It wouldn’t take long for the Romans to adopt and import this fertility and earth-goddess, equating her with Cybele and Rhea.
Temple Sites
Ops had a couple of different temples in ancient Rome. The first was a sanctuary in the Regia found at the Forum Romanum. The second was a Temple of Ops found on Capitoline Hill.
Roman Worship
When paired with Consus, the God of Storage as her consort, Ops would be honored at the harvest festivals on August 21st, Opiconsivia on August 25th and a later celebration of Opalia held on December 19th (sometimes this date is the 9th). There is another festival, held in Ops’ honor that was to have taken place on August 10th.
Roman Depictions
In statuaries and coins, Ops is shown sitting down, a feature characteristic of Chthonic deities. Ops is also showing holding a scepter and a sheath of grain.
What’s In A Name?
Ops’ name comes from the Latin word meaning “plenty” or a catchall for the words: abundance, gifts, goods, riches and even wealth. In many of the Latin writings from this era, the name or word Ops wouldn’t be used as it’s singular and instead, the word opis used as it’s plural.
Ops’ name is also where the word opus, meaning “work” is derived from. Not just any work or labor, but the very tilling and working the land for farming with plowing and sowing. Without this abundance of the earth and the forthcoming harvest, no one could eat. There are many rituals and festivals in the ancient world that attest to the sacred nature of the earth and the fertility of the land.
A last final thought I came across is the suggestion that Ops’ name is also related to the Sanskrit word of ápnas that also means: “goods” and “property.”
Parentage and Family
Parents
Caelus (The primal god of the Sky) & Terra (The Earth)
Siblings
The gods Janus and Saturn are given as Ops’ brothers.
Consort
Consus – The god of Storage, he is also worshiped with Ops as her consort.
Saturn – The god of agriculture, he is often paired up with Ops.
Children
Ceres, Pluto, Neptune, Jupiter, Vesta, and Juno
A Crisis Of Identity
While Ops has her origins in Sabine culture and mythology; her being imported and adopted by the ancient Romans, sees her getting identified with Cybele, the Magna Mater or Great Mother of Rome. The other notable goddess identified with Ops is Rhea, to the point that their stories are identical, just change out the names.
Epitaphs & Other Names
This time, I’ll be mainly looking at a few different epitaphs that Ops is known by.
Juno Opigena – Sometimes Ops would be used as an epitaph of Juno, the Queen of the Gods. This makes sense as Juno herself is a mother goddess, goddess of marriage and childbirth. Though, given Juno is Ops daughter, that comes off as a little confusing.
Ops the Sower – In this role, Ops protected the sowing of crops.
Ops Opifera – When called by this epithet, Ops is believed to bring help.
Ops & Saturn
Ops is often paired up with the god Saturn. The primary myth of these two directly lifts from the Grecian source as seen with Ops being equated with Rhea and Saturn with Cronus.
That said, Ops is the wife of Saturn, who one day learned of a prophecy in which one of his children would kill him, thus taking his throne as king of the Gods. Just like his Grecian counterpart, Saturn decided he would prevent this fate by devouring his children as they are born.
This leaves a very grief-stricken Ops, who decides with the birth of her sixth child, Jupiter (Zeus) that she would hide him away from Saturn. Ops takes and wraps a stone in swaddling clothes to present to Saturn as their latest child.
Even in the original Greek version of this story, they don’t explain how Rhea or Ops, in this case, manages to trick Saturn (Cronus).
Yet, there we are, Saturn has swallowed the stone. Opis hid away her youngest son, Jupiter and raised him in secret. Later, when Jupiter was older, he got a position as a cupbearer his father, the King. With this position, Jupiter is able to add a potion to Saturn’s drink that causes him to vomit and disgorge all of Jupiter’s siblings along with the stone.
The Titanomachy, a ten-year war would soon follow between Saturn and his children. Eventually, Jupiter would finally win the war, ending the Golden Age with Saturn’s death. Taking the throne, Jupiter would become king of the Roman pantheon.
Queen & Mother Of The Gods
That makes sense, Ops is the mother of the Roman Pantheon. As a queen, she would pass this title on later to her daughter Juno.
Rhea – Greek Goddess
Rhea has been identified with a couple of different Roman goddess, one is Cybele and of course Ops. Which can lead to some confusion when matching and pairing up just who’s a Grecian counterpart to who in Roman mythology.
The Romans were famous for subsuming many deities in their conquest across Europe, particularly the Mediterranean area, and identifying their gods with those of a conquered culture. The most famous being the Greeks, where many deities were renamed to those of Roman gods. Prominent examples like Zeus and Jupiter, Hera and Juno, Ares and Mars and so on down the line.
With the Hellenization of Latin literature, many Greek writers and even Roman writers rewrote and intertwined the myths of these two deities so that would virtually become one and the same. As the centuries have passed, the tradition of accepting both of these goddesses as one and the same has become generally accepted. Just that there are still some differences that separate the two.
Rhea’s best-known story is with the birth of the Olympian gods. Cronus fearing that a son of his would kill him and take over, devoured all of his children as they were born. Rhea managed to rescue her youngest son, Zeus by tricking Cronus into swallowing a rock. She hid Zeus in the Dictean Cave in Crete. Zeus, after growing up, succeeded at overthrowing Cronus and rescuing his siblings.
Raijin
Etymology: Rai (“Thunder”) and Den or Jin (“Lightning”). Another derivation is Kaminari 雷 (“Thunder”) and Kami 神 (“God”)
Pronunciation: Rye-Gin
Other Names and Epithets: 雷神, Kaminari, Kaminari-sama (“Thunder Master”), Karai-shin, Karaijin, Narukami (Thundering Spirit”), Raiden, Raiden-sama (Thunder and Lightning Master”), Yakusa no ikazuchi no kami (“Eight, Thunder, Spirit”)
Raijin is the name of a Shinto Weather God in Japanese mythology, specifically the God of storms, thunder & lightning. Sometimes, the name Raijin refers to one deity, other instances, Raijin will refer to several weather gods.
Attributes
Animal: Raichu
Element: Air
Plant: Rice
Sphere of Influence: Storms, Thunder, Lightning, Agriculture
Symbols: Drum
Description
Raijin is often depicted as a muscular, red-skinned Oni with sharp claws, horns, wild hair and carrying around a large drum or several drums with the symbol of tomoe written on them. These drums of course are used for the sound of thunder. To beat the drums, Raijin uses hammers. Sometimes Raijin is shown to have three fingers that each represent the past, present and future.
Statues depicting Raijin can be found throughout many places in Japan. Many of these sculptures will show Raijin possessing a pot-belly and a fearsome face.
Mortal Kombat – Finish Him!
Raijin, better known as Raiden, appears in the popular fighting game series Mortal Kombat. As Raiden, he is often shown as a robed man wearing a straw hat.
Parentage and Family
Parents
The gods Izanami and Izanagi, the main deities in Shinto are who birthed or created Raijin and all the other gods in Japan.
Siblings
In addition to Raijin and his brother Fujin, all of the Kami of Japan can be said to be Raijn’s brothers and sisters as they were all created after the creation of Nippon (Japan).
Divine Origins
There’re a few variations to Raijin’s origin.
In line with Japan’s creation myth, the gods Izanami and Izanagi created Raijin after they created Nippon, making him among some of the oldest gods in the Shinto religion. Specifically, Raijin was born right after the death of his mother, Izanami when she bore the fire god, Kagu-tsuchi. Izanagi took his sword, Ame no Ohabri got Kagu-tsuchi up into eight pieces, which became eight volcanoes. The blood dripping off the sword would create a number of other Japanese gods or kami.
After Izanami descended to the underworld, her husband Izanagi would follow after. There is a misunderstanding between the two and Izanagi took off. Izanami would send Raijin, along with other spirits to bring Izanagi back.
Other legends will say that there are eight lightning gods, hence the suffix part of Raijin’s name “jin” for people, plural. Getting back on point, these eight lightning gods were tasked with protecting Dharma by the Buddha. This syncretism, known as Shinbutsu-shūgō, joining different religions together is common in Japan. Even an order 1868 meant to separate the two religions of Buddhism and Shinto didn’t stop this from happening.
In Japanese lore, Raijin and his companion, Fujin were a pair of oni who actively opposed the other deities. Under the orders of Buddha, it took an army of thirty-three gods to subdue Raijin and Fujin and convert them to work alongside the other deities.
Kojiki – This ancient Japanese text is the primary source for everything known about Raijin.
Kamikaze – The Divine Wind
In 1274, the Mongols for the first time would attempt to set sail and invade Japan. However, a massive typhoon would destroy a good number of the Mongol fleet, disrupting plans for a conquest of Japanese archipelago. Going by the legend, only three men are said to have escaped. A second attempt in 1281 saw a similar typhoon blow through and wreck most of the Mongol fleet again. Both massive storms or Kamikaze as they would come to be known were attributed as being sent by Raijin to protect Japan.
Kami or Oni?
Some of the descriptions of Raijin say he’s an oni and that certainly seems true given his description and when looking at more Buddhist influenced stories where the gods had to battle Raijin and Fujin to tame them and convert them to Buddhism.
Kami – When we go back to the Shinto religion that predates Buddhism in Japan, Raijin is one of many, numerous gods or kami found throughout the region. They range in power from low level spirits all the up to gods.
Shintoism holds the belief and idea that everything seen in nature has a spirit, or kami. As spirits, they just are. The greater the spirit or kami, the more of a force of nature and raw power it will be. So many of these spirits would be revered and respected just to avoid needlessly getting them angry and ticked off.
Oni – By Japanese mythology, Oni are very synonymous with the Western concept of demons. Ugly, ogre-like creatures of varying descriptions. An Oni’s only purpose is to create chaos, destruction and disaster. Given depictions of Raijin, he looks the part of an Oni very much and when it comes to storms, a more severe storm can be very destructive.
With some of the more primal nature spirits and gods, it’s a very thin line for the concepts of good and evil if you’re trying to pin them to those categories. As a weather deity, it goes either way if his rains bring fertility and life or if it’s the destructive force of a hurricane.
Thunder Buddies!
When Raijin is mentioned, he is frequently paired with Fujin, another Weather God is also a sometimes rival. The two are constantly at it, fighting among themselves over who will rule the skies. The more intense a storm, the more intense their fighting.
Temple Guardians – Statues of Raijin and Fujin can be found at the gates to many temples and holy places in Japan where they are seen as protectors and guardians.
Raiju! I Choose You!
That sounds like the name of a pokemon. There are a couple, Raichu and Raikou, a legendary pokemon who is based on Raiju and other thunder gods.
In Japanese mythology, raiju is the name of Raijin’s animal companion. Raiju is described as a blue and white wolf or a wolf wrapped in lightning.
Island Deity
Raijin is also the god or kami of one of the Japanese islands and believed to live up on the mountains.
Storm Deity
As a storm deity, Raijin is revered as a considerable force of nature. The storms he brings can be destructive in the form of hurricanes and great wind storms when he battles Fujin. Or they can be life giving water and fertility to the land.
Kura-Okami – The god of rain and snow, Raijin is sometimes equated as being the same deity. Kura-Okami is active and at his strongest during the winter months from December to February.
Fertility
Thunder isn’t all that bad. A thunderstorm would mean rain. A lot of Japanese farmers would seek to appease Raijin for rain during droughts and not to flood their rice fields. There was a belief that lighting would cause fertility for a rice field. The sound of thunder and lighting, it would mean a bountiful harvest. This seems a tentative way to connect Raijin to agriculture and fertility.
Protection
I would think having a lightning rod to redirect lighting to the ground would be protection from Raijin. Hiding under a mosquito net is the only protection from Raijin.
That isn’t the only way, as the sound of thunder often freaks out many people and is an omen of disaster. After all, who wants a tree crashing in on their house during a thunderstorm or coming out after it’s over to see what swath of destruction has been left behind? Not many.
Mosquito nets asides, certain areas in Japan hold to a superstition that ritual needs to be performed during a thunderstorm. This ritual involves striking bamboo to exorcise bad spirits away from rice fields. This was thought to avert any disasters in the fields that would result to any lightning and thunder.
As a stated previously, as Raijin is seen as a primal spirit, its better to appease him and get on his good side rather than get him needlessly angry.
Hide Your Navel!
It’s believed that Raijin is found of eating human navels. It was common practice for Japanese parents to tell their children to hide their belly buttons during a thunderstorm lest Raijin come eat it.
If it’s any minor consolation, according to some beliefs, it’s not really Raijin who eats children’s belly buttons, but his animal companion Raiju who actually does. Or if Raiju isn’t eating your navel, he’ll curl up inside to sleep.
Okay then…
Hades
Pronunciation: hay’-deez
Etymology: “Unseen” or “The Unseen One”
Alternate Spellings & Other Names: Ἁιδης, Αιδωνευς, Áïdes (Ionic and Epic Greek), Aïdoneús, Áïdos, Áïdos, Áïda, Ais, Eubouteous, Háides, Klymenos, Pluto or Ploutos (“wealth” or “the rich one,”) Pluteus,Pluton, Ploutodótes, Ploutodotr (“Giver of Wealth”), Pylartes, Stygeros, ‘unseen’, Zeus Katachthonios (“Zeus of the Underworld”)
Epithets: Agesander, Agesilaos (“fetcher of men,” “carries away all” or “leader of men”), Chthonian Zeus, Clymenus (“notorious,”) Eubuleus (“good counsel” or “well-intentioned”), Hegesilaus, Polydegmon (“Reciever of Many Guests”)
Hades is an ancient chthonic deity who best known as the God and Ruler of the Underworld, so much so, that the Underworld would come to be known by his name.
Attributes
Animal: Black Rams, Dog, Rooster, Screech-Owl, Serpents
Element: Earth
Patron of: The Underworld, the Dead, Wealth
Planet: Pluto
Plant: Asphodel, Cypress, Mint, Narcissus, Pomegranate, White Poplar
Sphere of Influence: Death, Grief
Symbols: Cerberus, Cornucopia, Scepter, Narcissus, Key of Hades
Early Greek Depictions
In early Greek art and even mythology, Hades doesn’t make many appearances as this is a deity whom the ancient Greeks didn’t want to attract the attention of.
Most of Hades’ early representations in art are mostly pottery and statuary where he’s not always clearly defined. The classical era of art, especially those that depict the Rape of Persephone will show Hades with varying ages depending on the artist. Sometimes Hades is shown as looking away from the other gods to represent their disdain for him.
In Greek pottery, Hades is often shown having a dark beard and shown as a stately figure seated on an ebony thrown. In Greek statuary, Hades is often shown with his three-headed dog Cerberus for quick and easy recognition.
Hades is known to drive a chariot, drawn by four black horses, which makes for a fearsome and impressive sight. Hades is often thought of as being very dour and stern, unmoved by prayers.
When identified and represented as Plouton, Hades is seen in a more positive light. As Plouton, he is shown holding a cornucopia that represents the riches and fertility of the earth.
Cult & Worship
Hades was a grim and fearsome seeming deity that living humans did not mention by name lightly. As the god of the dead, one simply did not mention Hades by name lest they draw his attention and potentially an early death. Instead, Hades would be called by a few different euphemisms and epithets.
Such was the reluctance of any followers that people were hesitant to swear oaths in Hades’ name and would avert their gazes when performing sacrifices to him. The sacrifices made to Hades were black animals like sheep. Human sacrifices to Hades were outright rejected even though other sources will try to say that such human sacrifices were done. The blood from the animal sacrifices would be dripped into a pit or cleft in the ground. The person offering the sacrifice would turn away their face. When propitiated, people would slap or hit the ground to make sure that Hades heard them. Finally, every hundreds, festivals would be held to honor Hades. These were known as the Secular Games.
Temples – Hades was worshiped throughout Greece and Italy. It is known he had a sacred grove and temple in Elis. This temple would only be opened once a year. Another temple is known to have been in Pylos Triphyliacus near Mount Menthe. Finally, there was a sacred grove to the Erinnyes in Athens and another grove in Olympia.
Eleusinian Mysteries
Hades does have a part in the Eleusinian Mysteries, an annual religious celebration that predates the Olympian pantheon. It is an important life and death ritual with Persephone in her role as a vegetation goddess and Demeter having important roles where they are worshiped together. Hade’s role in the mysteries comes in the story of his abducting Persephone to the Underworld to be his wife and Queen. The Mysteries concern more the worshiping of Demeter and Persephone.
Orphic Mysteries
While we don’t know as much about the Eleusinian Mysteries, the Orphic Mysteries are another matter as there have been plenty of surviving Orphic Hymns and texts that have been found and translated. There’s plenty of evidence that has been left behind found through out all of southern Italy. Much of which is the connection of Dionysus’ death and resurrection symbolisms in myth.
Hades = Dionysus!?!
In connection to the previously mentioned Eleusinian Mysteries, starting with the philosopher Heraclitus; he states that Hades and Dionysus are merely the same deity with different aspects to them, the essence of life. A Karl Kerenyi points out that in her grief, Demeter refused to drink wine, a symbol of Dionysus, especially after Persephone’s abduction. Further, one of the Dionysus’ epithets is Chthonios, meaning “the subterranean.” Demeter knows full well that its Dionysus who has abducted her daughter and that Hades is merely an alias.
Though this is just one level of the Orphic tradition trying to explain a deity who has a dual nature. Many of Hades epitaphs are also the same epitaphs used for Dionysus. Names such as: Chthonios (“the Subterranean”), Euclius (“glorious” or “renowned”) and Eubouleus (“Good Counselor”)
Eubouleus
Speaking of Eubouleus, that epitaph is also applied to Zeus…. When covered as a deity by himself, Eubouleus is depicted as a youthful representation of the Lord of the Underworld.
Zeus Katachthonios – Zeus of the Underworld
Another important epitaph of Hades in the Orphic tradition. By calling Hades the name: “Zeus Katachthonios” they could connect him to his brother Zeus and why there are stories of Zeus and Persephone coupling up to have children like Melinoe and Zagreus.
Homer calls Hades “the Infernal Zeus” and “Grisly God”.
Tripartite God
It all makes for an interesting connection. Hades as the God of Death, Dionysus as the God of Life and Zeus tying them both together to represent the birth, death and resurrection of a deity.
What’s In A Name
The exact origins for Hades’ name have been lost to antiquity. It is however been agreed to translate as: “The Unseen One.” Plato’s dialogue of Cratylus has an extensive section devoted to the etymology of Hades’ name. Socrates argues that the name doesn’t mean “unseen,” but instead means: “his knowledge of all noble things.” More modern linguists lean towards the “unseen” meaning though another idea put forward is the meaning: “the one who presides over meeting up” referring to death.
Given his role as Lord of the Underworld, Hades is the deity liked least and people were reluctant to speak his name lest they bring unwanted attention to themselves. Even the other gods are said to have avoided Hades’ company.
In the 5th century B.C.E., the ancient Greeks began calling Hades by the name of Plouton, meaning “wealth” or “riches.” This name served more as a euphemism as the Greeks didn’t want to draw the attention of the God of Death. In addition, not only is the Underworld were the dead go and that’s who Hades rules over, but wealth and riches in the form of gold, silver and various gems can be found there.
Parentage and Family
Parents
Cronus and Rhea
Consort
Persephone – The daughter of Demeter whom Hades himself abducted. She is the Goddess of Spring, Vegetation and Fertility before becoming Queen of the Underworld.
Siblings
He is the fourth child born of Cronus and Rhea.
The birth order is Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus.
Chiron – a half-brother by way of Cronus and the nymph Philyra.
Children
It should be noted that by some accounts, Hades being the God of the Underworld is thought to be infertile, so any of Hades and Persephone’s children are the result of Zeus coming to have sex with his brother’s wife… and his own daughter. If you ask me, that’s a bit limited in thinking, just because Hades is lord of the Underworld, doesn’t mean he will be infertile. Of course, Zeus as the father works in the Orphic tradition when you want him to be the father of everyone.
The Erinyes – Also known as the Furies, they are sometimes called the daughters of Hades, though they’re actually earth-born.
Macaria – Death or Blessed. It’s just known that she is a daughter of Hades. There is a proverb: “Go to blessedness.” This is a euphemism for death as it’s not polite to speak ill of the dead.
Melinoe – A chthonic goddess identified with Hecate. In the Orphic tradition, she is the daughter of Persephone and Zeus in the guise of Hades. So, she’s not really Hades’ daughter and it’s possible Persephone claimed her as Hades if she didn’t know of Zeus’ ruse.
Zagreus – A minor deity in Greek mythology, he is called the “first Dionysus” in the Orphic tradition. In the Orphic tradition, Zagreus is the son of Zeus and Persephone, he is torn apart by the Titans and reborn later. The earliest mentions of Zagreus have him as a consort to Gaia and the god of the Underworld. The Greek playwright, Aeschylus connects Zagreaus with Hades so that they are either Father (Hades) and Son (Zagreus) or that they’re the same deity. Linking Dionysus into the myth of being Hades seems to stem from the myths of Zagreus.
Olympian God?
As much as Hades is a major Greek Deity, as his domain and realm is that of the Underworld where he rules over the dead, he isn’t one of the Olympian Gods.
Why?
Simply because that isn’t where Hades spent all his time. Except for the one time that he happened to be above ground and fell in love with Persephone, Hades spends all his time underground.
Attendants of Hades
Ruling the Underworld isn’t easy. There are all those souls of the deceased coming in. While Hades is sure to have the help if his wife and queen, Persephone, there’s still a lot to be done.
Cerberus – A Most Loyal Hound
Cerberus is the three-headed dog of Hades that guards the gate to the Underworld. It is with amusement that Cerberus has the meaning of “spot.” There’s something very humanizing and endearing in a deity naming their dog Spot.
The Erinyes
Also known as the Furies, they are an earth-born trio of chthonic deities whose job is to mete out retribution and vengeance. If you went against the natural order of things, perjured, broke an oath, murder, unfilial conduct, a child upsetting their parent…. These are the deities who came to deal with you. In their connection to Hades in the Underworld, the Erinyes would torment the souls of criminals.
I think its fair to say I wouldn’t want them angry with me, that way lays madness and likely some horrifying illness.
Judges of the Dead
The three judges of the dead are: Aeacus, Minos and Rhadamanthus. These three judges would sentence the souls of the dead, determine their guilt on if they would go to Tartarus or if deemed innocent enough, to pass on to the Elysian Fields.
In Plato’s Gorgias, a story is told to Socrates that the reason that there are three judges is so that everyone who dies will be judged fairly. The original judges had been there since Cronos’ time and were prone to letting anyone who was wealthy enough, dressed fanically enough and had witness who would claim that an undeserving, wicked soul was being allowed to pass on to the Elysian Fields. As these judges were judging people while still alive on their last day on earth.
Hades and the overseers in charge of the Isles of the Blessed came before Zeus with a complaint about this.
Zeus said he would put a stop to this practice and decreed that there would be stop to anyone having any foreknowledge of their death. The dead would be stripped bare of everything before judgement and would stand naked. The judge too would likewise be naked… clearly a metaphor for the naked truth and nothing hidden. The judge would hold the soul of the deceased in their hands to determine it’s worthiness without any of the entrapments of life. Aeacus and Rhadamanthus would determine a soul’s fate with Minos to act as a tie breaker if there were any doubt to where a soul’s final destination would be.
Birth Of A God
We start with Cronus and Rhea, the parents of Hades and all his siblings.
As the story goes, Cronus defeated his father, Uranus, overthrowing him to become the leader and King of the Titans. Shortly after, Cronus receives a prophesy that just as he killed his father, so too, would a child of his kill him.
This prompts Cronus to decide to devour his children whole as soon as they are born. This happens five times. Poor Rhea just gets to where she can’t take it anymore. With the birth of her sixth child, Zeus, Rhea hides him away and manages to convince Cronus that this large stone is their latest child. Bon Appetit, Cronus eats the “stone baby” none the wiser that he’s been tricked.
Rhea takes and hides Zeus, that later, when he is older, he can come fulfill the prophecy killing his father Cronus. During the battle, Zeus splits open Cronus’ stomach, freeing all of his brothers and sisters: Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera and Hestia. Incidentally, Hades is the last of Cronus’ children that is either regurgitated or comes out after Zeus splits their father open.
In other versions I have found of this story, Zeus meets with Metis who concocts a drug for Zeus to give Cronus so that he disgorges or vomits up the stone and all of his children.
Titanomachy
There is a ten-year long divine war known as the Titanomachy, that by the end, Zeus takes his place as ruler and king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Hades and the other gods take up their roles as part of the newly formed Pantheon.
During the war, Gaia gave a prophesy to Zeus that he would have victory over the Titans by freeing the Cyclops who were then prisoners in Tartaros. Zeus slew Campe, the jail-keeper of the Cyclops. As a reward and thanks for releasing them, the Cyclcops forged weapons for the three brothers. Thunderbolts for Zeus, a Trident for Poseidon and a Bident for Hades along with a magical helmet of invisibility.
During this war, Hades used his helmet of invisibility to sneak into the Titans’ camp and destroy their weapons. After the war, the Titans were imprisoned within Tartoros and the Hecatoncheires were placed in charge of guarding the new prisoners.
Dividing the Spoils of War – After defeating Cronus and all of his father’s followers, the three brothers, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus divided up rulership of the cosmos between them. Hades would become ruler of the Underworld, Poseidon would become ruler of the seas and Zeus would become ruler of the air. The earth, the domain of Gaia, would be available to all three gods.
Iliad – The Iliad describes the three brothers as pulling lots to determine who would rule which realm.
Hades & Typhon – While not exactly a flattering story of Hades; the story is that of Zeus battling the giant monstrous serpent Typhon during or after the Titanomachy. Hesiod’s Theogony describes Hades as cowering down below in the Underworld while Zeus is busy hurling thunder bolts and battling Typhon to take his place as king of the Olympian gods.
The Rape Of Persephone
You read that right. Yes, I could have titled this one differently. However, this is the title of the story for Persephone’s abduction by Hades to the Underworld that many are familiar with and the most well-known story regarding Persephone.
After Hades’ birth and the dividing up rulership of the realms, this story is the most well-known regarding this deity.
When Persephone is first known as Kore, the Maiden. As Kore, she lived with her mother Demeter, a harvest Goddess. Kore herself is a fertility goddess who makes or causes everything to grow. Kore’s father is the mighty Zeus himself.
Kore grew up and spent her time playing in the fields with the nymphs, gathering flowers, playing and with her mother. As she grew older, Kore came to attract the attention of the other male Olympian gods. Hephaestus, Ares, Apollo and Hermes all sought her hand in marriage. The young Kore rejected them all for she was still interested in playing with her nymph friends and collecting flowers. Demeter made sure that her daughter’s desires were known.
This didn’t stop Hades, the god and ruler of the Underworld. For Hades, this was love at first sight. As was customary, Hades went to his brother, Zeus (also Kore’s father), to petition for Kore’s hand in marriage, getting permission.
Zeus took the proposal to Demeter who refused. Kore isn’t going to leave her or go anywhere, least of all the Underworld with Hades. Not going to happen!
At first, this sounds as if Demeter is simply being unreasonable. The type of response of a mother fearing the empty nest or mother smothering and won’t let her child go. What we would call now days, Helicopter Parenting.
Zeus likely thinks he’s being reasonable, mentioning that every child grows up and leaves their parents eventually and that Kore is certainly old enough to marry. But Zeus isn’t listening, he thinks he knows better. That Demeter is just making an idle threat that if he marries off Kore to Hades and takes her down to the Underworld, nothing will grow!
Since they can’t get Demeter’s approval for the match, Zeus and Hades take a step back, allowing Demeter to think she’s won this round. Hades comes up with a plan to outright kidnap/abduct Kore while she is out gathering flowers. Zeus is in on this too and plants a narcissus flower to attract Kore’s attention.
While Kore is distracted by this new, unusual flower, behind her, a chasm opens up in the earth and out comes Hades, riding in his chariot to snatch up Kore to carry away with him back to the Underworld.
Of all of Kore’s Nymph friends, only the Naiad, Cyane tried to rescue and stop her abduction. Overpowered by Hades, Cyane in a fit of grief cried herself into a puddle of tears, forming the river Cyane.
Demeter, hearing the nymph’s cry out that something was amiss, came running, only to find that her daughter is missing and none of the nymphs in their crying could tell her what happened. Angry, Demeter cursed the nymphs that they turned into Sirens. Only the river Cyane offered any help with washing ashore, Kore’s belt.
In vain, Demeter wandered the earth, searching for her daughter. Unable to find her, Demeter went and hid herself in sorrow at the loss of her daughter. Once plant life begins to die, the other gods go in search of her. Especially once all their followers begin to cry out there’s no food, help them.
Pan is the one who eventually finds her in a cave. Demeter in her despair, reiterates that without Kore, nothing will grow.
The way this gets told in most retellings, Demeter is threatening to refuse any new life or plant growth. To appease her and prevent people from starving, the gods agree to find Kore so that life can return. It seems that way if you don’t know or forget Kore’s already existing role as a fertility goddess.
Hecate realizes and knows there’s a problem. Hence, she intervenes. All isn’t lost if Kore hasn’t eaten the food of the Underworld, the dead, she can return to the world above.
Down in the Underworld, a frightened and despairing Kore is refusing the advances of Hades and refusing to eat any food. Kore knows that if she eats the food, she won’t be able to return to the living world.
Now at some point, Hecate comes and talks with Kore. At some point, Kore falls in love with Hades or she sees the state of what the Underworld is like. A plot twist comes, and Kore does, either willingly or tricked into it, eats some pomegranate seeds. The number of which varies from one to four, Persephone is bound to the Underworld and must spend part of the year there. The rest, she can spend above in the mortal world with her mother Demeter.
This way, Hades doesn’t lose his wife and queen and Persephone can fulfill her role as a fertility goddess, bringing life to the land.
Variations
As a note, I came across commentary that says there are some 22 variations in Antiquity about the story of Persephone’s abduction. I doubt I could find all of them. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter written between 650-550 B.C.E. is thought to be the oldest story.
Overly Simplified – One version of the above story is drastically simplified and glosses over a lot of details to the story of Persephone and Hades. In it, Hades just happens to be out and about in the mortal realm when he spots Persephone. It’s easy enough to say Hades has love at first sight and he simply grabs Persephone and carries her off with him down to the Underworld. Persephone is unhappy at first with her lot, but eventually she grows to love Hades and comes to accept her fate as his wife.
As to Demeter, she is so overcome with grief at the loss of her daughter that she neglects her duties with creating plant growth. It is Zeus who makes a decree that Persephone may be reunited with her mother, but only for part of the year. Zeus sends the god Hermes down to the Underworld to retrieve and bring Persephone back.
Hades held no desire to give up the goddess whom he intended to marry. Coming up with a plan, Hades tricked Persephone into eating some pomegranate seeds. Now because she had eaten the food of the Underworld, Persephone was bound to stay.
Persephone needed to only stay part of the year and the rest, she could be with Demeter. This way too, Hades didn’t lose his bride for she would have to return to him.
Not the best version of the story to give as it removes many details and robs Persephone of any agency or choice in the matter. Stockholm Syndrome at its finest.
Version 2 – Regarding the Narcissus flower, Zeus commands Gaia to create it to distract Persephone when she is out picking flowers. As it is far from any lakes or rivers where her Naiad friends can follow, Persephone is all alone for when Hades comes. Sure enough, when Persephone picks this strange new flower, a chasm opens underneath her, and she falls down into the waiting arms of Hades and the Underworld.
Version 3 – When Demeter becomes distraught over the loss of Persephone, she goes mad and wanders the land disguised as an old woman carrying a pair of torches in her hands. She searches for some nine days and nights.
Eventually Demeter meets Hecate on the tenth day who takes pity on Demeter’s miserable appearance. Hecate tells Demeter to seek out Helios, the sun god who can tell her of what happened. Demeter finds Helios who informs her about Hades abducting Persephone.
Demeter begs Hades to release Persephone and allow her to come back to the living world. Hades consults with Zeus about the matter. Hecate returns and lets Demeter know that Persephone hasn’t eaten four pomegranate seeds and because of that, Persephone will still be able to return to the living world. There is a catch and that is, because Persephone has eaten some of the pomegranate, she will have to return to the Underworld for part of the year.
Both version 2 and 3 retellings go for making it look as if Demeter is responsible for refusing to allow anything to grow and does so out of anger or spite. Or that in her grief, Demeter simply neglects her duties for making things grow. This idea originates in Homer’s “Hymn to Demeter,” that gives the idea that Demeter is in charge of fertility.
Those versions work if you want to ignore that Kore/Persephone is a Fertility goddess, she’s the one who is responsible for new plant growth.
Hades’ Role In The Myth
In the story for the Rape of Persephone, Hades fits into the story as he is an Underworld deity himself. Among the Greeks, it was believed that Hades rode around in his chariot catching the souls of the dead to carry back down to the Underworld.
With Persephone being a chthonic goddess, the Greeks likely came up with the story to better fit the goddess to her role as a Queen of the World. It unfortunately greatly diminishes her role and what her functions were from a much earlier era.
In the myths where Hades is called Pluto or Plouton, he is not only a god of the Underworld, but wealth where the riches of the earth can be found. Partnering him up with Persephone is meant only to add to his power and domain for now it is the riches of the earth in terms of fertility.
Homeric Hymn – More like a side note, this hymn tells how the shepherd Eumolpus and the swineherd Eubuleus see a girl being carried away to the Underworld in Hades’ chariot. Eubuleus looses his pigs to the Underworld as they fall into the chasm that opens up for Hades on his descent below.
Ascalaphus – In what seems to be padding the story, Ascalaphus, the keeper of Hades’ Orchard is who tells the other gods that Persephone has eaten the pomegranate seeds. Demeter becomes so enraged with this news that she buries him beneath a huge rock in the Underworld. Later, when he is released, Demeter turns him into an owl.
Altered States of Mind – Most people think of rape as having to be a something violent for it to be valid? I’m sure the in the original Greek tellings of the story, it’s obvious what Hades’ intent is. Never mind later retellings that seem to gloss over and not really make it clear as they want to give you a happy fuzzy feeling that Persephone just accepted her fate and this is how we got the four seasons of the year.
Looking at the older, archaic definition, this is the forcible carrying away of a woman to have sexual intercourse with her. So, looking at how the story of Persephone’s Abduction is originally titled and knowing older definitions of a word, I’d say it’s pretty clear.
Love Affairs
Before his marriage to Persephone, Hades does seem to have had a couple of love interests. Not as many as Zeus, that’s for sure, just a couple though.
Hades & Minthe
Hades had a mistress by the name of Minthe, a nymph. In an act of hubris, Minthe boasts about how she is more beautiful than Persephone and that she would manage to win Hades back.
Persephone takes exception to this boast and to prove her power, might and indignation, she turns the nymph into a plant of the same name.
By Ovid’s account, Hades is still pursuing Minthe, which would explain a moment of jealousy on Persephone’s part to make sure her man remains loyal.
Mmm…. Mint. Gotta love that sweet smell.
Hades & Leuce
Leuce was a nymph and the daughter of Oceanus. She was carried off by Hades and ravaged, according to Ovid’s Metamorphosis. Though we know what really happened, rape. Alas things were not meant to be and Leuce died. On her death, Hades turns Leuce into a white poplar, a tree that would later be sacred to Hades. Hercules is said to have been wearing a crown of poplar leaves when he returned from the Underworld.
Theseus & Pirithous – Would-Be Suitors
Even though Persephone is married to Hades, that doesn’t stop the heroes Pirithous and Theseus from descending down to the Underworld with the aspirations of Pirithous marrying Persephone.
The two had it in their heads that they would marry daughters of Zeus. They clearly didn’t think the plan through. Of course, Theseus had the bright idea of being the one to try kidnapping Helene, Zeus wasn’t happy with that. Some accounts have the mighty Zeus sending a dream to the two with the idea of going off to have Pirithous marrying Persephone.
Hades is there to welcome the pair sure enough. Soon as they are seated, their chairs magically bind and holdfast the would-be suitors. There they would remain prisoners until the hero Hercules comes to the Underworld to free them. Most versions, it’s just Theseus who is freed.
Just let that be a lesson, don’t mess with another man’s wife or daughters if he thinks you’re unworthy of such a thing.
Molossians – King Aidoneus
There’s a version of the story of Theseus and Pirithous were they journied to the Molossian in Epiros where a King Aidoneus rules. Coincidentally, Aidoneus has a wife by the name of Persephone, a daughter named Kora and a dog named Cerberus. Pirithous conspires to kidnap Kora and when Aidoneus learns of this plot, he seizes both men. Pirithous is killed by the dog Cerberus and Theseus is held prisoner. In this version of the story, Herakles (Hercules) was a guest of Aidoneus and when he learned of what happened; Herakles pleaded for Theseus’ release. In gratitude, Theseus built an alter to Herakles.
So perhaps this shows a bit of taking an actual event and making it larger than life involving the god of the Underworld, Hades.
The Twelve Labors Of Hercules
In Greek mythology, the hero Hercules was tasked with a series of twelve labors by King Eurystheus that needed to be performed as penance for the killing of Hercules’ family. One of Hercules’ tasks and the final one, was to descend to the Underworld to retrieve the three-headed hound Cerberus.
In a more extended version of the event, Hercules goes to Eleusis to be initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries. This had to purposes, first to absolve Hercules of his guilt for the death of all the centaurs and secondly, it would allow him to learn enter and return from the Underworld.
Hercules found the entrance to the Underworld in Taenarum. With the help of the gods Athena and Hermes, Hercules was able to make the descent down and back. Being sensible, Hercules goes and asks Hades if he can take his dog, Cerberus rather than outright steal it. Hades only consents to Hercules taking his beloved dog on the condition of not harming Cerberus. Specifically, Hercules is not to use any weapons. When leaving the Underworld with Cerberus, Hercules passes through the Acherusia cavern.
In some accounts, it is said that Persephone, not Hades is who allowed the hero to take the hell hound. While Hercules was at it, Persephone also allowed the hero to free Theseus from his confinement. Other accounts will say that Hercules wounds Hades with an arrow, though that sounds like that’s from another story.
In Pseudo-Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca, Hercules decided it was a good idea to slaughter one of Hades’ cattle in order to give the souls of the dead some fresh blood. Menoetes, Hades’ keeper of cattle challenged the titular hero to a wrestling match. It is only after Hercules breaks the ribs of Menoetes that the hero sets him down at the behest of Persephone.
In the versions told by Diodorus Siculus in his “Library of History” and Pseudo-Hyginus’ Fabulae, Hercules frees both Theseus and Pirithous.
In Seneca’s Hercules Furens, Hera complains about Hercules having broken down the doors to the Underworld and dragging the hound, Cerberus up to the living world. Hera ask why doesn’t Hercules lord it over Hades, saying that the law of the shades has been nullified. That a way for ghosts or spirits of the dead to return from the Underworld has been opened up. That the mysteries of Death are available for all to see. Seneca’s Hercules Furens also ignores that Hercules was not to harm Cerberus with any weapons and says that the hero does use his club.
Hercules & Alcestis
This is the second encounter that Hercules and Hades have.
Queen Alcestis was the wife of King Admetos. He didn’t want to die and seems to have gotten some special permission from the Fates.
The Fates told Admetos that he could escape his time to die if someone else would take his place. That person ended up being Alcestis. Wise to the shenanigans, Persephone sent Alcestis back to the living world.
Another version has the mighty Hercules coming to fight Hades so Admetos can be released back to the living world.
Look, when your time comes, it comes.
Hercules & The Siege Of Pylos
This is the third time that Hercules and Hades encountered each other. During the siege of Pylos, Hercules hurt Hades who was there to gather up the souls of the deceased. Some later accounts would place Hades as defending the town of Pylos. Most accounts of this story have Hades wounded by an arrow.
Orpheus & Eurydice
In the story of Orpheus’ descent to the Underworld, wherein he hoped to bring back his wife, Eurydice back from the dead. Both Hades and Persephone takes compassion on Orpheus and allow him a chance to try and bring his deceased wife back to the lands of the living.
Seven Against Thebes
During this event, Hades and Persephone ended up sending a deadly plague to the city of Thebes when King Creon refused to bury any of the dead warriors. When two maidens, the Coronides, daughters of Orion sacrificed themselves to appease Hades and Persephone, they were transformed into a pair of comets.
Well, you’re gonna get a plague and diseases if you leave a bunch of corpses out rotting in the field of battle and don’t bury or clean them up.
Hades & Sisyphus
Ah Sisyphus forced to forever roll that boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down on him.
Before dying, Sisyphus has tied up Thanatos so that men would cease to die. It would take the god Ares to come to the rescue and release Thanatos before turning Sisyphus back over to the god of Death.
Just before getting taken away to the Underworld, Sisyphus had told his wife, Merope to just have his body be thrown out into a public square, where eventually his body made its way to the river Styx. Sisyphus then tricked Hades into allowing him to return to the living world, so he could scold his wife for not giving him a proper burial.
Naturally, the trick worked and once Sisyphus “told off” his wife, he refused to return to the Underworld. It took the god Hermes to forcibly drag Sisyphus back to the Underworld.
Another version of the story has Sisyphus simply pleading to Persephone that he was taken to Tartarus by mistake and the Queen of the Underworld orders his return.
Some people just don’t want to face the music.
Lord Of The Underworld – Hades
Hades was so well equated with the Underworld that the very place came to be associated with his name. Small wonder then, that the Greeks would start calling him Pluto to distinguish between the deity and the place.
The Underworld was known as the Unseen Realm where all the souls of the dead, not just of humans, but all living things. Once there, there for good, there’s no leaving.
As ruler of the dead, Hades forbid anyone from leaving the underworld. A few such as Hercules and Orpheus are among the few living to have claim to entering and returning to tell about it. Others, such as Pirithous and Sisyphus learned the hard way that you don’t dare try to cheat death or there would heavy consequences to pay.
Even so, feared and disliked as he is, Hades was known for being very stern and sometimes seemingly cruel at times. He was still just in all his dealings, even when he had someone like Sisyphus repeatedly trying to cheat death.
The Underworld – Hades
As a physical locale, there are many regions in the underworld. The Greek mythographers weren’t consistent with the geography of the Underworld.
Getting to the Underworld isn’t so easy as it’s located beneath the earth, obviously. In the Odyssey, the entrance is described as being at the edge of the world, across the ocean. Other Greek and Roman poets would describe the Underworld’s entrance being found in deep caverns and deep lakes.
Homer describes the Underworld as being a vague and shadowy place occupied by ghost where nothing is real and any existence, such as it is, was miserable. Well then….
Later descriptions better define what the Underworld looks like with having the Elysian Fields where “good people” go and Tartarus where “evil people” go. Firstly, the god Hermes in his role as a Psychopomp would lead the souls of the dead down to the river Styx. There, assuming the dead had been buried with a coin, the souls would pay the ferryman, Charon to take them across the river Styx to the gates of the Underworld.
An unlucky soul who wasn’t buried with the proper coin, the Greek obol, a small denomination coin much like an American penny, would be condemned to wander the Earth as a ghost
Guarding the gates to the Underworld would be Cerberus ensuring that anyone can enter, but no one is getting back out. Once in, the souls of the dead would stand before the Judges of the Dead to determine where they would be spending the rest of eternity.
A soul deemed to have been good would be taken to the river Lethe where they would drink and forget all the awful things that happened to them in life before being sent to the Elysian Fields. A soul deemed to be bad or unworthy would be seized by the Erinyes and taken to Tartarus where they would be tormented forever.
Acheron – Meaning woe or sorrow, it is one of five rivers found in the Underworld.
Asphodel Meadows – Or the Fields of Asphodel, this is the first region of the Underworld. The shades of heroes wander here. Lesser spirits gather around them. The libations of blood offered to them by those in the living world are able to reawaken these spirits for a short period to what it had been like to be living.
Avernus – In Roman myths, the entrance to the Underworld is found at Avernus, a crater near Cumae. This is where the hero, Aeneas journeyed on his descent down to Hades. Incidentally, the name Avernus is sometimes used as the name for the Underworld.
Cocytus – Meaning lamentation, one of five rivers found in the Underworld.
Elysium – Also called the “Islands of the Blessed,” those souls deemed blameless or heroes would come here to reside in the afterlife.
Erebus – This area is described as being a gloomy and misty place where the dead reside. This is the place where every living person goes when they die. Few are those who have entered that leave. This place is the area most associated with Hades and would be called by the deity’s own name. Here, two pools were to be found. The first being Lethe, the souls of the dead would drink from to erase the memories of their former life. The second pool is Mnemosyne or “memory” that initiates of the Mysteries would drink from.
Hades and Persephone’s court is found here, where three judges of the Underworld, Aeacus, Minos and Rhadamanthus sit in judgment of the dead. In addition, the trivium, a spot sacred to Hecate was found. From the trivium ran three roads. The souls of the dead would be judged here. If a soul was judged to be neither virtuous or evil, they would be sent to the Asphodel Meadows. If a soul was judged to be evil or impious, they would be sent to Tartarus. If a soul was judged to be virtuous or “blameless”, they would be sent to Elysium.
Erytheia – An island found in the Underworld. Hades kept a herd of cattle here who are attended to by Menoetius.
Lethe – Meaning oblivion, one of five rivers found in the Underworld.
Phlegethon – Meaning fire, one of five rivers found in the Underworld.
Styx – Meaning hate, an infamous river of the Underworld. One of five rivers, Styx forms the boundary between the living world and the lands of the dead. The newly dead would pay the fare of an obolus or small coin to Charon, the Ferryman to be ferried across to the Underworld. The Greeks would make propitiatory offerings to help those born paupers or without friends and relatives to have a proper burial; thus, preventing their return to the living world. Once to the other side of Styx, the dead would pass by Cerberus, through the gates of the Underworld to be judged and sent on their way to where in the Underworld they would reside. The gods would swear their oaths on this river and is the same river that Achille’s mother dipped him into in order to grant her son invulnerability.
Tartarus – If a soul were deemed evil, they would be sent to Tartarus. Infamous inmates of Tartarus are: the daughters of Danaus who must try to fill a sieve with water, Ixion who is tied to a constantly spinning wheel of fire, Oknos who forever braids a piece of rope while a donkey eats the other end, Sisyphus who must forever roll a rock up a hill, and Tantalos who is unable to ever quench his thirst.
Judaism & Hades
Continuing on the theme of Hades’ name becoming synonymous with that of the Underworld. The Hebrew word, Sheol which means “Unseen” is also the name for the Jewish Underworld. And Hades’ name means “Unseen” as well. It could be easy to see a linguistic translation could cause confusion and could cause people to start calling the Underworld by the name of Hades and giving the deity the name Pluto to keep it straight.
Christianity & Hades
It wasn’t just the Greeks, later Christians would also refer to Hades when wishing someone to go to Hell, they might say “See you in Hades” as an alternative.
The name Hades appears ten times in the Bible, particularly the New Testament; specifically, the newer King James Version and the original Greek texts, where the name Hades is frequently interchangeable with the Christian idea of Hell or for the body’s decay and destruction in death. At times, certain verses seem to indicate the god Hades, not just the place. Later translation will replace the name Hades with that of Hell.
Evil Vs. Well… Neutral
Because Hades is the ruler of the Underworld and God of the Dead, there’s a strong tendency to equate him as being evil. The Underworld, that’s where Hades rules and people down below to Hell where Satan, the devil dwells. Hades must be evil!
Not so, Hades is more altruistic in that he prefers to keep balance. Sure, he comes off as stern and dour and when dealing those like Sisyphus, you have to lay down the law.
There’s a lot of movies and T.V. shows that tend towards showing death and going to the Underworld as some sort of negative thing. When really, it’s just another place, another state of being and plane of existence. Hades was all about maintaining balance.
The television show: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys seems to be the only series I know of that portrays Hades in a positive light. The main episode in question being Hercules helping his Uncle Hades properly win and earn Persephone’s love, not just flat out abducting her. A retelling of Hades’ abduction of Persephone to the Underworld.
Thanatos – Death Personified
Just a quick note to throw in, yes Hades is the God of the Underworld and the Dead, he is not Death personified, that distinction belongs to Thanatos.
Sibylline Oracles – This was a curious mixture of Greco-Roman beliefs and Judeo-Christian beliefs. Here, Hades is noted as the name for the realm of the dead. If one played fast and loose with the etymology of the name Hades, they would derive the name of Adam, the first man due to his being the first to die and enter the afterlife.
Asclepius & Hades
As mentioned before, Hades being the God of the Underworld doesn’t allow the souls of the living to return to the living world lightly. So, it should come as no surprise when, Asclepius, a famous healer, finds himself in trouble with Hades.
Asclepius’ healing abilities were so great, that he could bring the dead back to life. This angered Hades, who, one of his few trips to the upper world, brought his grievances to Zeus. Hades accused Asclepius for the decreasing number of dead who entered his realm.
Siding with his brother, Zeus kills Asclepius with a thunderbolt.
Aesop Fable #133
As a bit of a side story, this fable has a reference to Asclepius’ story. In it, a physician who knows nothing about medicine, informs a patient that they will die and to get his affairs in order.
Even though this patient had other people telling him this bought of illness would go away.
A short bit later, the physician runs into the patient again and asks them how everyone down in Hades are doing. The patient responds that everyone is doing well, however Persephone and Hades are angry, ready to denounce all physicians with the physician at the top of the list as people were no longer getting sick and dying. The patient goes on to say that he stepped forward, grasping their scepters and sword that his was nonsense as the physician was no doctor of at all.
Key Of Hades
This symbol is often used in art to represent Hades’ power and control over the Underworld. The key serves as a reminder that the Gates to the Underworld are always locked. That while souls are free to enter, they are not allowed to leave. Even if the Gates are opened, that Cerberus is right there, guarding the exit to prevent any escapees.
Bident
A bident is a two-pronged weapon that Hades is often shown with. That claim though, for antiquity remains uncertain even though a bident does appear in various Greek art and literature and there are a few examples of bronze weapons from Greek culture.
It has also been pointed out that Poseidon has a trident, a three-pronged weapon, Hades has a bident, a two-pronged weapon and that Zeus has his thunderbolt, that is a one-pronged weapon. Just in case someone thought there should be some sort of connection.
With this bident, Hades could shatter anything in his way, much like Poseidon does with his trident.
Helm Of Darkness
Better known as the Cap of Invisibility, the Cap of Hades and Helm of Hades, it is either a cap or helmet that can turn whoever wears it, invisible. The Greek name for the Cap of Invisibility is: Ἅϊδος κυνέην, which translates into “dog-skin of Hades.” The 1st/2nd century text: Bibliotheca mentions Hades having this helmet. A Rabelais refers to this helmet as the Helmet of Pluto and Eramus calls it the Helmet of Orcus. Both names clearly connect this cap or helmet as belonging to the god of the Underworld.
The Helm of Darkness is said to work by creating a cloud of mist, allowing the wearer to become invisible to any supernatural being. The Elder or Uranian cyclops created the Helm of Darkness for Hades to use in the war during the Titanomachy. A gift and thanks for freeing the cyclops from Tartarus.
Hades isn’t the only one to wear the helmet. The goddess Athena wore the helmet during the Trojan War when helping Diomedes fight her brother, Ares. Diomedes succeeds at wounding Ares with a spear.
Then you have Hermes who wore the Helmet when he battled the giant Hippolytus. Lastly is the hero Perseus who received the Helmet from Athena, along with a set of winged sandals when he was on his way to go slay the gorgon, Medusa. Another variation to the story has Perseus getting the Helmet and sandals from the Stygian nymphs. After slaying Medusa, Perseus used the helmet to escape the wrath of her sisters, Euryale and Sthenno.
Plouton – God of Wealth & Riches!
When Hades is known as Plouton, he becomes connected with that of wealth and riches. Seeing as it is underground where gold, silver, precious gems, etc. are all going to be found, that makes sense. It also makes some sense too when partnering Hades up in his role as Plouton with Persephone to spread and share the bounty of the earth. Not just in mineral wealth, but the fertility and growth of the land as well.
Eleusinian Deity – Ploutos is originally a god of wealth as it concerns agriculture and later just wealth and riches overall. Of which, Ploutos is the Demeter’s son by way of Iasion. Which when you know the genealogy and who Ploutos mother is and who Persephone’s mother is, I don’t think the ancient Greeks were thinking through this pairing of deities very well.
Which is what they did when referring Hades by the name of Plouton to try and connect him to the Eleusinian Mysteries. Of course, that could be why Hades is said not to have any children directly and why the mother of Persephone’s children are fathered by someone else. Even then….
It’s just the Greeks playing theological games with throwing everything in a blender and trying to have more minor deities absorbed into the worship of a more influential deity to become an epitaph of said deity.
This connection also comes about too, as the Greeks didn’t like to refer to Hades by name. A euphemistic name would be used instead; Plouton. This alternate name for Hades started seeing use in 5th century B.C.E. The name Plouton would be adopted by the Romans and Latinized to become Pluto.
Aita – Etruscan
A cognate for Hades in the little-known Etruscan beliefs and mythology.
Pluto – Roman
Pluto the Latinization of Plouton. Other Roman names used for Pluto are: Aidoneus, Dis, Dis Pater (“the Rich Father”), Dives and Orcus.
In the Roman retellings of the story, Pluto (Hades) is out riding in the mortal realms, inspecting the land to make sure that after the fall of the titans, the borders to his realm in Tartarus are still secure. When Venus and her son Cupid see the lord of the Underworld out riding, the opportunity is too much for them and Venus instructs her son to hit Pluto with an arrow so that when he sees Proserpine, he is stricken with such love and lust that he carries her off to his shadowy realm of Tartarus. The rest of the story is much like the Greek versions where Ceres sets off in search of her missing daughter.
Demeter
Pronunciation: dih-mee’-tur
Other names: Amphictyonis, Sito (“She of the Grain,”) Thesmophoros (“Law Bringer”)
Other Names and Epithets: Achaea, Achaiva (“Sorrowing,”) Aganippe (“the Mare who Destroys Mercifully”, “Night-Mare,”) Anesidora (“Sender of Gifts,”) Antaea, Chloe (“the Green Shoot,” Chthonia (“In the Ground,”) “Corn-Mother,” Daduchos (“Torch Bearer,”) Demeter Lousia, “the Bathed Demeter”, Demeter Erinys, Demeter Melaine “Black Demeter,” Despoina (“Mistress of the House,”) Epipole, Erinys (“Implacable,”) Europa (“Broad Face or Eyes,”) Kidaria, Lusia (“Bathing,”) Malophoros (“Apple-Bearer” or “Sheep-Bearer,”) “Mistress of the Labyrinth,” “Mother-Earth,” Potnia “Mistress,” Thermasia (“Warmth,”) “Green,” “The Giver of Gifts,” “The Bearer of Food,” and “Great Mother.”
When paired with Persephone, she and Demeter are called: “the Older” and “the Younger” in Eleusis, Demeters in Rhodes and Sparta, the Thesmophoroi or “the Legislators” in Thesmophoria, The Great Goddesses and The Mistresses in Arcadia. “The Queens” in Mycenaean Pylos.
Antaea – This name and epitaph is one that is applied equally to Cybele, Demeter and Rhea by the Greeks. The meaning of the name is unclear, though it does denote a name for a goddess whom people could approach in prayer.
Etymology: Earth Mother
It’s generally agreed that the second part to Demeter’s name, “meter” comes from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning mother.
Now, the first part to Demeter’s name, De originates as Da, becoming Ge in Attic and then De in Doric. Making it that Demeter means “Mother Earth.” The root word of De has also been linked to the name Deo, from the Cretan word for emmer, spelt, rye and other grains. In this respect, Demeter is the giver of food. Another alternative from Proto-Indo-European etymology is that De is derived from Despoina and Potnia where Des- means house or dome, making in this case, Demeter mean “mother of the house.”
In Greek mythology, Demeter is the Olympian goddess of agriculture and the harvest. She specializes in the cultivation of grains and is a fertility goddess. In addition, Demeter ruled over the cycles of life and death as well. Demeter is an ancient goddess whose worship predates the Greeks. Both Demeter and her daughter Persephone were the central figures in the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Attributes
Animal: Horse, Pig, Snake
Colors: Black, Green
Element: Earth
Month: August
Patron of: Agriculture, Harvest
Plant: Grains, Wheat, Barley, Poppy
Sphere of Influence: Growth, Seasonal Cycles, Harvest, Sacred Law
Symbols: Cornucopia, Scepter, Wheat, Torch, Bread
Early Greek Depictions
Found in Pylos, there is a set of Linear B Mycenean Greek tablets that dates from between 1400 to 1200 C.E. that depicts “two mistresses and the king” that are thought to possibly be Demeter, Persephone and Poseidon.
In Homer’s Odyssey, Demeter is described as a blond-haired goddess who separates the chaff from the grain.
Demeter doesn’t often appear in art before the 6th century B.C.E. Demeter is often associated with imagery of the harvest, flowers, fruit, grain and sometimes seen in the company of her daughter Persephone where they are both wearing crowns and hold a torch and scepter or stalks of grain. Another scene that Demeter is shown in is that of Athena’ birth. Sometimes Demeter is shown sitting alone wearing a wreath of braided ears of grain.
Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian mysteries were an annual religious celebration that predates the Olympian pantheon. It is an important life and death ritual with Persephone in her role as a vegetation goddess and Demeter having important roles where they are worshiped together. During the reign of King Erechtheus of Athens is when Demeter’s worship came to Eleusis.
Originally, the festival was celebrated in the autumn during the seasonal sowing in the city of Eleusis. The myth was told in three phases of a decent, the search and the ascent, describing Demeter’s sorrow and her joy as she became reunited with Persephone. This celebration also involved dancing in the Rharian field where the first grains were grown. There are inscriptions of “the Goddesses” being accompanied by Triptolemos, an agricultural god and another of the God and Goddess that refer to Persephone and Plouton.
There were two sets of observances or celebrations for the Eleusinian Mysteries that would be held every five years.
The Lesser Mysteries would be held the 20th Anthesterion (roughly coinciding with February 28th) and take place over a span of week
The Greater or Eleusinian Mysteries would occur during the 15th-21st of Boedromion (September 28th to October 4th).
Ancient Sumerian Origin – The idea has been put forward by the renowned scholar, Samuel Noah Kramer that the story of Persephone’s abduction to the Underworld likely sees its origins in the ancient Sumerian story of Ereshkigal, the goddess of the Underworld who was abducted by the dragon Kur and forced to become the ruler of the Underworld against her will.
Agrarian Cults – The cults of Demeter and Persephone of the Eleusinian Mysteries and Thesmophoria are based on some very old agrarian cults. These cults were led by priest as evidenced from an image on a Minoan vase dating to the end of the New Palace Period. This ancient cult held a connection to seasonal practices and tasks.
Daemons & Animal Nature – In Arcadia, the worship of Persephone and Demeter were the first daemons local deities who governed the powers of nature. Such ancient beliefs show a connection to animal nature that saw a belief in nature personified with nymphs and deities with human forms but also possessing animal heads and tails or other features.
Celebrate Good Times, Come On!
The seasonal disappearance and the later return of Persephone were times of festivals during the time of ancient Greece. The Eleusinian Mysteries are the most well-known and even then, the secrets for this festival were closely guarded, that not much is known about them.
Secret Rites & Immortality – Life after death seems to be a very common motif in many religions and beliefs around the world, even anciently. That somehow, life, some sort of existence continues even after death. It was no different for initiates into the Eleusinian Mysteries who closely guarded their initiation rites. After all, the Eleusinian Mysteries wouldn’t be a mystery if everyone knew about them. For the Eleusinian Mystery initiates, these secrets were that of resurrection and there would be some place better than that of dismal depths of Tartarus.
They wouldn’t be the first to have the idea of life after death. It is thought by the experts, that the rites and mysteries held during the Eleusinian mysteries, along with other traditions such as the Orphic tradition and Mithraism all contributed towards the formation of Christianity and its ideas of resurrection, everlasting life and even immortality.
In the Eleusinian Mysteries, Kore’s return from the Underworld conveyed the idea of immortality and a resurrection from death.
Orphic Tradition – This is where the myth of Persephone is identified with other deities such as Isis, Rhea, Ge, Hestia, Pandora, Artemis, and Hecate. It is within this tradition that Persephone, with Zeus becomes the mother of Dionysus Iacchus, Zagreus or Sabazius.
Local Cults & Worship
Each local cult held their own traditions and ideas for where Persephone had been abducted from. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, it is the “plain of Nysa” where Persephone’s is kidnapped. The Corinthian and Megarian colonists, and Sicilians believed her abduction to happen in the fields of Enna. The Cretes believed that Persephone’s abduction occurred on their island. Other versions will place the abduction in places like Attica, near Athens, or even near Eleusis.
Distant localities that lay in the mythical played a part in creating a sense of some mystically, distant chthonic world that normally couldn’t be visited and created more of an air of mystery and prestige to the Eleusinian Mysteries. In the month known as Anthesterion, Persephone was the only one to whom the mysteries were dedicated to in Athens.
Temples dedicated to the Eleusinian Mysteries and the worship of Demeter and Persephone were found throughout all ancient Greece, Asia Minor, Sicily, Magna Graecia and Libya. Not much is known about the specifics of local rites and worship.
Amphictyony – An ancient ruin site, this is likely the oldest cult center for Demeter in Anthele along the coast of Malis, Thessaly. For those interest in history, this is near Thermopylae where the famous 300 Spartans fought the invading Persians. After the “First Sacred War,” this Amphictyony became known as the Delphic Amphictyony. Basically a meeting place for many local Greek tribes and cities to come gather to maintain temples to the gods, festivals and work out any disputes and problems.
Megara – Temples to Demeter were called Megara and would be built in groves with neighboring towns nearby.
Mysia – The goddess Demeter worshiped here had a seven-day festival held at Pellene, Arcadia.
Sacrifices To Demeter – These would consist of pigs, bulls, cows, honey cakes, and fruit.
Minoan Crete
New Year’s Celebration & Divine Child
A near eastern culture with strong ties and connection to the ancient Greeks. The Minoans of Crete held a belief in a fertility goddess whom every year, would give birth to the God of the New Year. That sounds familiar. The New Year’s baby to symbolize the New Year.
This god of the New Year would become the fertility goddess’ lover and of course, the cycle would repeat with the god’s death and his rebirth at the New Year. Similar beliefs and cults are found with those of Adonis, Attis and Osiris.
In Minoan Crete, this fertility goddess is Ariadne and the “divine child” who died every year were part of an aniconic religion whose main deities were female. Every year, an ecstatic sacral dance that involved tree-shaking and the worshiping of stone or stone idols were conducted. The idea and suggestion have been put forward that the worshiping of Persephone may likely be a continuation of the worshiping of a Minoan Great Goddess.
Eileithyia – She is a local Minoan goddess found in Amnisos, Crete where she is a goddess of childbirth who gives birth to a divine child. Her consort is given as Enesidaon, the “earth-shaker” an epitaph of Poseidon. Eileithyia’s myth and cult would come to be absorbed into the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Divine Child – This boy consort to the Great Goddess symbolized the annual dying and renewal of vegetation every year.
Mycenean Greece – Arcadia
While we know the mystery cults existed, not much is known about other than a few inscriptions. In Mycenae, Persephone is thought to have been identified with a local goddess by the name of Despoina, “the Mistress” and chthonic goddess of West-Arcadia. Despoina’s worship is just an example of another deity who would be absorbed into the worship of Greek deities. To the uninitiated of the Arcadian mysteries, the name Despoina was not allowed to be revealed.
The local temples throughout Arcadia were often built near springs and there is evidence of continual fires being kept at some of these. The worship of Demeter and Kore were closely linked to springs and animals.
Thesmophoria
Another mystery cult similar to the Eleusinian Mysteries. Many of the secret rites and traditions are very similar to each other, including an early concept idea of immortality. Thesemophoria were held and celebrated in the city of Athen before coming more wide spread throughout Greece. It was a women-only festival that held strong association to marriage customs. It would be held on the third day of the year in the month of Pyanepsion, marking when Kore was abducted, and Demeter neglected her duties as a harvest goddess. The date can vary, if the festival were held in Athens, it would during the 11th-13 Pyanepsion, roughly coinciding with October 23rd-25th.
One ceremony involved burying sacrifices of pigs into the earth and then unearthing the decayed remains of pigs buried from the previous year. The remains would be placed on an alter and mixed with seeds before being planted.
Thesmophoria would be celebrated over the course of three days. On the first day is the “way up” to the sacred space. The second day is a day of feasting where pomegranate seeds are eaten. The third and final day, is a meat feast that honors Kalligeneia, goddess of beautiful birth. Hades, under the euphemistic name of Zeus-Eubuleus would attend the feast.
Thesmophoros – “Giver of Customs” or “Legislator” is a name and epitaph that links Demeter to the goddess Themis, which derives from the word thesmos, the unwritten law.
Parentage and Family
Parents
Cronus and Rhea
Consort
Zeus, Oceanus, Karmanor, and Triptolemus
Iasion – Demeter manages to lure Iasion away during the wedding of Cadmus and Harmonia.
Poseidon – The Arcadian cult and myths link Demeter and Poseidon together. In this respect, Demeter is then equated with the Minoan Great Goddess, Cybele.
Siblings
She is the second child born of Cronus and Rhea.
The birth order is Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus.
Chiron – a half-brother by way of Cronus and the nymph Philyra.
Children
Amphitheus I – Her son by Triptolemus.
Arion – A magical speaking horse, her son by Poseidon.
Chrysothemis & Eubuleus – Her children by Karmanor.
Despoina – Her daughter by Poseidon.
Dmia – Her daughter by Oceanus.
Iacchus – Her son by Zeus. Due to the similarity of his name with Bacchus, he is sometimes identified as being Dionysus.
Persephone – Goddess of Fertility and Queen of the Underworld, her daughter by Zeus.
Philomelus – her son by Iasion.
Ploutos – Also spelled Plutus, her son by Iasion.
Olympian Goddess
While Demeter may just very well indeed predate Grecian culture, she is counted among the twelve major deities who resided on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain peak in Greece and all of Europe. For the Greeks, this was the perfect location for where the gods would preside at while keeping watch on humankind down below them.
As there are several deities within Greek mythology, just who numbers among the Olympians varies. It’s generally agreed that the twelve major Olympians are: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and then either Hestia or Dionysus.
Birth Of A Goddess
We start with Cronus and Rhea, the parents of Demeter and all her siblings.
As the story goes, Cronus defeated his father, Uranus, overthrowing him to become the leader and King of the Titans. Shortly after, Cronus receives a prophesy that just as he killed his father, so too, would a child of his kill him.
This prompts Cronus to decide to devour his children whole as soon as they are born. This happens five times. Poor Rhea just gets to where she can’t take it anymore. With the birth of her sixth child, Zeus, Rhea hides him away and manages to convince Cronous that this large stone is their latest child. Bon Appetit, Cronous eats the “stone baby” none the wiser that he’s been tricked.
Rhea takes and hides Zeus, that later, when he is older, he can come fulfill the prophecy killing his father Cronus. During the battle, Zeus splits open Cronus’ stomach, freeing all of his brothers and sisters: Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera and Hestia.
There is a ten-year long war known as the Titanomachy, that by the end, Zeus takes his place as ruler and king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Demeter and the other gods take up their roles as part of the newly formed Pantheon.
Demeter & Zeus
Zeus as we know, King of the Gods, fathered many children with many goddesses and mortal woman alike and usually by rape.
In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Zeus rapes his sister Demeter, resulting in Kore, Persephone.
By one account, Demeter becomes a fourth wife to Zeus and in their union, they have a daughter by the name of Kore (Persephone).
With the information from the Homeric Hymn and Zeus’ reputation, that would be an awful lot of wives if he married everyone he’s to have raped.
The Rape Of Persephone
You read that right. Yes, I could have titled this one differently. However, this is the title of the story for Persephone’s abduction by Hades to the Underworld that many are familiar with and the most well-known story regarding Persephone. Plus, this is also a story involving her mother Demeter and her role in it and the primary story told in the Eleusinian Mysteries.
When Persephone is first known as Kore, the Maiden, she lived with her mother Demeter, a harvest Goddess. Kore herself is a fertility goddess who makes or causes everything to grow. Kore’s father is the mighty Zeus himself.
Kore grew up and spent her time playing in the fields with the nymphs, gathering flowers, playing and with her mother. As she grew older, Kore came to attract the attention of the other male Olympian gods. Hephaestus, Ares, Apollo and Hermes all sought her hand in marriage. The young Kore rejected them all for she was still interested in playing with her nymph friends and collecting flowers. Demeter made sure that her daughter’s desires are known.
This doesn’t stop Hades, the god and ruler of the Underworld. For Hades, this is love at first sight. As was customary, Hades went to his brother, Zeus (Kore’s father), to petition for Kore’s hand in marriage, getting permission.
Zeus took the proposal to Demeter who refused. Kore isn’t going to leave her or go anywhere, least of all the Underworld with Hades. Not going to happen!
At first, this sounds as if Demeter is simply being unreasonable. The type of response of a mother fearing the empty nest or mother smothering and won’t let her child go. What we would call now days, Helicopter Parenting.
Zeus likely thinks he’s being reasonable, mentioning that every child grows up and leaves their parents eventually and that Kore is certainly old enough to marry. But Zeus isn’t listening, he thinks he knows better. That Demeter is just making an idle threat that if he marries off Kore to Hades and takes her down to the Underworld, nothing will grow!
Since they can’t get Demeter’s approval for the match, Zeus and Hades take a step back, allowing Demeter to think she’s won this round. Hades comes up with a plan to outright kidnap/abduct Kore while she is out gathering flowers. Zeus is in on this too and plants a narcissus flower to attract Kore’s attention.
While Kore is distracted by this new, unusual flower, behind her, a chasm opens up in the earth and out comes Hades, riding in his chariot to snatch up Kore to carry away with him back to the Underworld.
Of all of Kore’s Nymph friends, only the Naiad, Cyane tried to rescue and stop her abduction. Overpowered by Hades, Cyane in a fit of grief cried herself into a puddle of tears, forming the river Cyane.
Demeter, hearing the nymph’s cry out that something was amiss, came running, only to find that her daughter is missing and none of the nymphs in their crying could tell her what happened. Angry, Demeter cursed the nymphs that they turned into Sirens. Only the river Cyane offered any help with washing ashore, Kore’s belt.
In vain, Demeter wandered the earth, searching for her daughter. During her search, Demeter found herself in the palace of Celeus, King of Eleusis in Attica. Demeter took the guise of an old woman, calling herself Doso and asked the King for shelter. Celeus took the old woman in and had her nurse Demophon and Triptolemus, his sons.
Now, from a goddess’ perspective, she planned to reward Celeus’ kindness by gifting his son Demophon immortality. To grant the gift of immortality, Demeter anointed the child with ambrosia and laid him down in the hearth fire with the intention to burn away his mortality. Mom, Queen Metanira walks in and see her baby laying in the fire and understandably freaks out, screaming. Demeter decided against this idea and instead taught the older boy, Triptolemus the knowledge of agriculture. From this, this is how humankind learned how to plant, grow and harvest grain.
Unable to find her, Demeter went and hid herself in sorrow at the loss of her daughter. Once plant life begins to die, the other gods go in search of her. Especially once all their followers begin to cry out there’s no food, help them.
Pan is the one who eventually finds her in a cave. Demeter in her despair, reiterates that without Kore, nothing will grow.
The way this gets told in most retellings, Demeter is threatening to refuse any new life or plant growth. To appease her and prevent people from starving, the gods agree to find Kore so that life can return. It seems that way if you don’t know or forget Kore’s already existing role as a fertility goddess.
Hecate realizes and knows there’s a problem. Hence, she intervenes. All isn’t lost if Kore hasn’t eaten the food of the Underworld, the dead, she can return to the world above.
Down in the Underworld, a frightened and despairing Kore is refusing the advances of Hades and refusing to eat any food. Kore knows that if she eats the food, she won’t be able to return to the living world.
Now at some point, Hecate comes and talks with Kore. At some point, Kore falls in love with Hades or she sees the state of what the Underworld is like. A plot twist comes and Kore does, either willingly or tricked into it, eats some pomegranate seeds. The number of which varies from one to four, Persephone is bound to the Underworld and must spend part of the year there. The rest, she can spend above in the mortal world with her mother Demeter.
This way, Hades doesn’t lose his wife and queen and Persephone can fulfill her role as a fertility goddess, bringing life to the land.
Variations
As a note, I came across commentary that says there are some 22 variations in Antiquity about the story of Persephone’s abduction. I doubt I could find all of them. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter written between 650-550 B.C.E. is thought to be the oldest story.
Overly Simplified – One version of the above story is drastically simplified and glosses over a lot of details to the story of Persephone and Hades. In it, Hades just happens to be out and about in the mortal realm when he spots Persephone. It’s easy enough to say Hades has love and first sight and he simply grabs Persephone and carries her off with him down to the Underworld. Persephone is unhappy at first with her lot, but eventually she grows to love Hades and comes to accept her fate as his wife.
As to Demeter, she is so overcome with grief at the loss of her daughter that she neglects her duties with creating plant growth. It is Zeus who makes a decree that Persephone may be reunited with her mother, but only for part of the year. Zeus sends the god Hermes down to the Underworld to retrieve and bring Persephone back.
Hades held no desire to give up the goddess whom he intended to marry. Coming up with a plan, Hades tricked Persephone into eating some pomegranate seeds. Now because she had eaten the food of the Underworld, Persephone was bound to stay.
Persephone needed to only stay part of the year and the rest, she could be with Demeter. This way too, Hades didn’t lose his bride for she would have to return to him.
Not the best version of the story to give as it removes many details and robs Persephone of any agency or choice in the matter. Stockholm Syndrome at its finest.
Version 2 – When Demeter becomes distraught over the loss of Persephone, she goes mad and wanders the land disguised as an old woman carrying a pair of torches in her hands. She searches for some nine days and nights.
Eventually Demeter meets Hecate on the tenth day who takes pity on Demeter’s miserable appearance. Hecate tells Demeter to seek out Helios, the sun god who can tell her of what happened. Demeter finds Helios who informs her about Hades abducting Persephone.
Demeter begs Hades to release Persephone and allow her to come back to the living world. Hades consults with Zeus about the matter. Hecate returns and lets Demeter know that Persephone hasn’t eaten four pomegranate seeds and because of that, Persephone will still be able to return to the living world. There is a catch and that is, because Persephone has eaten some of the pomegranate, she will have to return to the Underworld for part of the year.
Both version 2 and 3 retellings go for making it look as if Demeter is responsible for refusing to allow anything to grow and does so out of anger or spite. Or that in her grief, Demeter simply neglects her duties for making things grow. This idea originates in Homer’s “Hymn to Demeter,” that gives the idea that Demeter is in charge of fertility.
Those versions work if you want to ignore that Kore/Persephone is a Fertility goddess, she’s the one who is responsible for new plant growth.
Version 3 – Some versions of the story place the episode where Demeter goes to Celeus’ kingdom to hide in sorrow after she learns just who abducted Persephone. Regardless of if its Helios or Hecate who tells her the news.
This placement in the narrative often fits when the impression of Demeter as Fertility goddess is wanted to be given and that in her despair or out of spite, sets the world on a path to barrenness and winter.
Side Note – Sometimes the characters of Demephon and Triptolemus seen as being the same person, especially Triptolemus.
Ascalaphus – In what seems to be padding the story, Ascalaphus, the keeper of Hades’ Orchard is who tells the other gods that Persephone has eaten the pomegranate seeds. Demeter becomes so enraged with this news that she buries him beneath a huge rock in the Underworld. Later, when Ascalaphus is released, Demter turns him into an owl.
Hades’ Role In The Myth
In the story for the Rape of Persephone, Hades fits into the story as he is an Underworld deity himself. Among the Greeks, it was believed that Hades rode around in his chariot catching the souls of the dead to carry back down to the Underworld.
With Persephone being a chthonic goddess, the Greeks likely came up with the story to better fit the goddess to her role as a Queen of the World. It unfortunately greatly diminishes her role and what her functions were from a much earlier era.
In the myths where Hades is called Pluto or Ploutos, he is not only a god of the Underworld, but wealth where the riches of the earth can be found. Partnering him up with Persephone is meant only to add to his power and domain for now it is the riches of the earth in terms of fertility. In this case, the wealth of corn or grain springing forth from the ground every year and the promise of renewal it brings with it.
Agriculture
This is perhaps the biggest aspect about Demeter. As an Earth Goddess and Goddess of the Harvest, this is Demeter’s biggest role in her gifting mankind with the knowledge of agriculture, especially for grains and cereals. Without the advent of agriculture, humans would still largely be hunter-gatherers moving about and never having settled in any place to build cities and all the rest that follows.
Grain – This crop was of great importance to the ancient Greeks as it was rare and hard to come by in the Grecian country sides. Persephone’s close association with this crop held the promise of renewal, regeneration and possibly immortality, knowing that she would return every spring.
This strong connection of grain and rebirth or renewal is what ties Demeter so closely to the Eleusinian Mysteries. In Hesiod, there are prayers to Zeus-Chthonios and Demeter to help ensure that the crops will be full and strong.
Secrets Of Agriculture – In the larger story of “The Rape of Persephone,” there is a shorter episode that occurs. During Demeter’s search for her missing daughter, the goddesses’ wanderings took her to the kingdom of Eleusis in Attica where King Celeus ruled. While there, seeking shelter in the guise of an old woman, Demeter, after deciding to not gift immortality to the young son, Demophan, the goddess instead taught the knowledge of agriculture to the older son, Triptolemus. In this way, this is how humankind learned the knowledge of how to plant, grow and harvest grain.
Now, there a few different versions to this myth and other figures such as Eleusis, Rarus and Trochilus will be who learned the secrets of agriculture. Fair enough.
Civilization!
Without the knowledge of agriculture, humankind would have continued to be nomadic, hunter-gathers. With Demeter’s influence, humankind is able to settle and stay in one place to begin building up their cities and civilizations. This fits with one of Demeter’s names: Thesmophoros as “Law Bringer” and laying out the planning and laws of society.
Seasonal Cycles & Changes
Like her daughter, Demeter is also closely connected to the Ancient Greeks beliefs about the changing of the seasons, especially as seen in the story: “The Rape of Persephone.” That Spring and Summer are when Persephone has returned to the Living World to be with her mother Demeter and that Fall and Winter come when Persephone descends back down to the Underworld to be with her husband Hades for the rest of the year.
Sure okay, makes sense I guess.
The more simplified Greek versions would have it that Demeter is responsible for the fertility of the earth and that she causes it to be winter out of grief and spite because her daughter Persephone isn’t with her. Add to that so many people wanting to give stories about how fickle and petty the Greek Gods could be, this just seems to fit the Pantheon’s MO, nobody is questioning the story?
Yay! I love mankind so much! I’m going to teach them agriculture and how to harvest! Boo! Hiss! You took my daughter! I’m going to punish the very mortals I claim to love so much by making the earth barren and winter!
That really doesn’t make sense!
Fertility Goddess – That’s because you have to remember that Persephone is a chthonic fertility goddess. The earth can grow again, and Spring comes when Persephone has ascended to the Living World.
The fertility function is something that the Greeks really seem to have forgotten and which role and function they attached to Demeter. That way, a version of the story where Demeter is the fertility goddess, it’s out of spite and grief that Demeter causes winter and refuses to allow anything to grow.
Harvest Goddess – Yeah! Everyone remembers this aspect about Demeter. Afterall, she taught mankind the secrets of agriculture! This is Demeter’s domain and better fits the dual roles that she and Persephone share.
Alright kiddos, Persephone’s going back to the Underworld to be with Hades again, better bring in those crops and harvest like I told you! It’s gonna’ be awhile and we don’t need any empty bellies or people dying while we wait for Persephone to come back.
Fall comes, and this is where Demeter’s role comes in. As plants become dormant or die, now is the time for harvesting, to make sure there enough food has been stored and gathered for the long winter months until Persephone and Spring returns. The first loaf of bread is thought to have been sacrificed to Demeter.
As a goddess of the Harvest, this domain ties closely to Demeter’s role as a goddess of Agriculture, having taught humankind it’s knowledge so they can grow enough food.
To keep with the version of the story where Demeter makes it Winter out of spite or grief because her daughter has been abducted seems contradictory. Especially if Demeter is one of the few Greek Gods who is considered closest to humankind and understands the most about grief and loss.
Mother Goddess
Just by the very meaning of Demeter’s name, “Earth Mother,” we know she is a mother goddess. Not necessarily a “Great Mother Goddess” as the Romans would identify Cybele and Rhea with.
As a mother goddess, Demeter is seen as the most compassionate and closest to humankind of all of the Greek Gods for she is the one who understands the most about grief and loss. It’s her gifts of abundance and the harvest yields that nurture and sustain humans through the long winter months.
Poppies
This is another plant besides grains that is strongly associated with Demeter. Her emblem is that of a bright red poppy flower growing among the barley. Theocritus wrote of Demeter being a poppy goddess, that she held poppies and sheaves of grain in both of her hands. In Gazi, Minoa, there is a clay statuette that was found of a goddess wearing seed capsules on her diadem. The idea has put forward that a Great Mother Goddess, under the names of Rhea and Demeter introduced the poppy with her cult in Cretan.
Healing A Poor Man’s Son – An episode often set during Demeter’s search for her daughter, the goddess comes across a poor, old man who is out gathering firewood. He invites the goddess to his home, likely not knowing who she is, and offers to share a meal with her. This would be the law of hospitality among the Greeks known as Xenia.
When Demeter told the old man about her search for her missing daughter, he wished Demeter success and said that he understood her grief and suffering for his own son lay dying. Taking compassion, Demeter decided to go with the old man to his home. She stopped once to gather some poppies and when they arrived, Demeter went straight to the boy’s bedside, kissing him on the cheek. At once, the boy’s sickly pallor left him, and he was restored to health.
As to the poppies, I assume the story intended some healing use and connection. Poppies are a source of opium from which morphine is derived. There is a history of poppies being used medicinally, mainly for diarrhea and pain, chest colds, coughs and pneumonia. So, a Greek audience likely knew very well what Demeter intended to use the poppies for.
Poppy seeds are also used in preparations for bread and confections. Not likely an immediate use of drug abuse.
Goddess Of Marriage
As a goddess of marriage, Demeter is venerated at the celebration of Thesmophoria. It’s an interesting connection and one that makes sense if one remembers that it wasn’t unusual for mothers to be kept out of the loop as to whom their daughter would marry when the father is making the arrangements.
Of course, this future husband was likely someone easily two if not three times the girl’s age and she would find herself torn from her birth home and leaving to live with her husband, most likely in another town and province.
Demeter’s grief over the loss of her daughter would resonate with many women in ancient Greece. Taking from the stance of Demeter as responsible for fertility, she, unlike many women was able to do something that others couldn’t. That was to defy Zeus’ will by holding the world hostage until he agrees to release Persephone back to Demeter, even if only for part of the year.
It may have been a partial victory, but a victory all the same for Demeter. Many mothers probably hoped to be able to do something similar. Or say, a daughter could return to visit her maternal family, things would never return to the way they were before. But just for a little while, they could.
Demeter & Iasion
Iasion is noteworthy as he is considered the only consort Demeter took by choice rather getting raped or forced by another person. Iasion is the son of Zeus and the mortal woman, Elektra.
During the marriage of Cadmus and Harmonia, Demeter spotted Iasion and fell in love. She managed to lure Iasion away from all the other party goers. The two would head out to a field near Crete where they would have a tryst. Demeter would later give birth to twins: Ploutos (or Plutus) who is known for bestowing wealth and plenty on people and Philomelos who would become the patron of plowing.
Zeus would become jealous of Iasion and kill him with a thunderbolt. By one account, Zeus didn’t think it appropriate that a Goddess would consort with a mortal. But it’s okay if he does it? Got it.
Ploutos & Philomelos
In a case of sibling rivalry, Philomelos was envious of Ploutos great wealth. Rather than re-enact a biblical scene worthy of Cain and Abel, Philomelos bought a pair of oxen and invented the plow so he could earn a living tilling the earth. This so impressed Demeter, that she placed Philomelos up into the heavens to become the constellation Bootes.
Demeter & Poseidon
Well sure and why not? Demeter is the Goddess of the Earth and Poseidon is the God of Water. That’s a good match and they’re consenting adults and gods.
Mycenaen Greek – This is Bronze Age Greece, there is a script known as Linear B found in Mycenae and Mycenaean Pylos where both Demeter and Poseidon’s names appear. Poseidon is given the epitaph of E-ne-si-da-o-ne “earth-shaker” and Demeter’s name is given si-to-po-ti-ni-ja. In these inscriptions, Poseidon’s title and epitaph E-ne-si-da-o-ne (Enesidaon) links him as a King of the Underworld and gives him a chthonic nature.
Touching back to the Eleusinian Mysteries, there are tablets found in Pylos that mention sacrificial goods for “the Two Queens and Poseidon” or “to the Two Queens and King.” It’s agreed that the Two Queens very likely refer to Demeter and Persephone or its later precursor goddesses who are not associated with Poseidon later.
Eileithyia – She is a local Minoan goddess found in Amnisos, Crete where she is a goddess of childbirth who gives birth to a divine child. Her consort is given as Enesidaon, the “earth-shaker” whom we just mentioned is Poseidon. Her cult and worship would survive within the Eleusinian Mysteries. Plus, we see where local deities’ worship get absorbed and conflated with a more popular, well-known deity.
Arcadia – We’re still in Bronze Age Greece! Here, Demeter and Poseidon Hippios or Horse Poseidon give birth to a daughter, Despoina, who is a goddess in her own right before some of the myths confuse her with Persephone or make her an epitaph of Demeter.
In this myth, Poseidon is a river spirit of the Underworld, appearing as a horse. In this form, Poseidon pursues Demeter, who is also in horse form. Demeter hid among the horses of King Onkios. Due to her divinity, Demeter couldn’t remain hidden for long and Poseidon caught up with her and forced himself on her. When the two gods copulate, Demeter gives birth to a goddess who is also in horse or mare form. This is a myth that sounds very similar to another one between Poseidon and Athena and more accurately, Philyra and Cronos when Chiron is born. The horse motif is very common in norther-European myths and folklore.
As a mare-goddess, Demeter is known first as Demeter Erinys due to her fury with Poseidon for forcing himself on her. She becomes Demeter Lousia, “the bathed Demeter” after washing away her anger in the River Ladon. There’s something to be said for this as you can’t hold onto your anger forever, you must let it go or otherwise it consumes you.
The whole myth of pairing up Demeter and Poseidon is to connect Demeter as a Goddess of the Earth and Poseidon as a God of Water with their connection over nature. Despoina is the daughter who results from their union and whose name could not be spoken outside of the Arcadian Mysteries. Demeter and Poseidon also have another child, a horse by the name of Arion who is noted being able to speak, being immortal, really swift and for having a black mane and tail.
The effigy or imagery of Demeter worshiped in Arcadia depicts her as a gorgon or medusa-like with a horse’s head and snake hair while holding a dove and dolphin that likely represented her power over air and water. Close to the Arcadian city of Phigaleia, there is Mt. Elaios where a cave held sacred to Demeter is found. Here, an image of Demeter Melaine is seated showing the goddess dressed in black with a horse’s head and snake hair. According to Pausanias’ Description of Greece, when the statue caught fire and was destroyed, the Phigalians failed to make a new statue for Demeter, eventually leading to neglecting her sacrifices and festivals, the land became barren.
Demeter & Ascaelabus
I assume this is an episode set during when Demeter is searching for her daughter. When Demeter stopped at one point to kneel by a spring to quench her thirst, a man by the name of Ascaelabus began laughing when he heard the sound of Demeter’s gulping. Angry and embarrassed, Demeter turned the man into a lizard for his rudeness.
Demeter & Triopas
Considered the father of the Thessalians, Triopas was cursed by Demeter after he destroyed one of her temples. In retaliation, Demeter sent a huge serpent to kill Triopas. Even in death, Demeter wasn’t finished and she set Triopas up among the heavens as a constellation where the serpent could forever torment him.
Demeter & Erysichthon
Erysichthon was a Thessalian hero who decided to build himself a palace. Unfortunately for Erysichthon, the grove of trees he chose were sacred to Demeter. As Erysichthon set about to cut down the trees, Demeter came in disguise as a priestess by the name of Nikippe to try and warn Erysichthon not to cut the trees.
Nikippe is also the name of a nymph who lived in the grove. So when Erysichthon ignores the warning and chops down the tree, killing Nikippe, Demeter became very wroth and cursed Erysichthon with an insatiable hunger.
The more that Erysichthon ate, the thinner he became. In addition, when he had spent all of his money to try and sate his insatiable hunger, Erysichthon turned to selling his daughter Mestra into slavery.
Luckily for Mestra, she was a mistress of Poseidon and he granted the powers of shape-shifting into animals. Using this ability, Mestra would be able to escape slavery every time her father sold her.
Triple Goddess
In New Age, Pagan and Wiccan practices, Demeter is often seen as the Mother aspect of the “Triple Goddess” with Persephone representing the Maiden and Hecate the Crone.
Virgo Zodiac Constellation
The constellation of Virgo is the sixth sign of twelve that form the classical Greek Zodiac. For those who study and are into the classical Greek Zodiacs, this time is typically said to be from August 23 to September 22. Virgo is often depicted as a Winged Maiden holding a stalk or sheaf of wheat or some other grain in her hand. This figure is sometimes identified with that of Demeter, most notably by Marcus Manilus in his Astronomicon in 1st century Rome.
Ceres – Roman Goddess
Ceres is the Roman goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility, and motherhood and equated with Demeter. Similarly, Ceres has a daughter by the name of Proserpina is also abducted by Pluto down to the Underworld to become Queen of the Dead. The biggest difference in the myth is that Pluto is struck by an arrow from Cupid after his mother Venus told him to do. This is what causes the God of the Dead to fall madly in love with Proserpina. The other difference is that Cere’s celebrations and festivals come during the Spring while Demeter is venerated in Fall with the Harvest.
Cybele – Phrygian & Roman Goddess
The Greeks are who make the connection and equate Cybele with Demeter and Rhea, seeing in her a Mother Goddess. While Cybele does have her origins in Phrygian worship, when the Greeks encountered her, they just saw another deity like their own, just under a different name. Yes, all three are a Mother Goddess and Goddess of the Earth, you can see why the Greeks would equate all three together.
The Romans are clearer in acknowledging more clearly the genealogy of the Greek pantheon and equating Cybele whom they readily adopted as their own with Rhea and then equating Demeter with Ceres, a Roman Harvest goddess.
Antaea – This name and epitaph is one that is applied equally to Cybele, Demeter and Rhea by the Greeks. The meaning of the name is unclear, though it does denote a name for a goddess whom people could approach in prayer.
Rhea – Greek Goddess
The Greeks are who equate Demeter with her mother, Rhea, a Titaness, mother of the gods who is also a goddess of the earth and fertility. As I previously mentioned with the name of Antaea, that epitaph could be applied to Demeter, Cybele and Rhea equally. It works if you’re just seeing all the gods as different aspects of the divine and not making any distinction. It’s possible that’s just remnants of an older belief and religion that the Greeks replaced with their own.
Gaia – Greek Goddess
I’m my own Grandma!
Not really, leave it to the Greeks to continue with blending all their deities as being one and the same, to blur or ignore their own genealogies for their Pantheon. Gaia is the primordial goddess of the Earth and from whom all life sprang forth. Again, it works if you’re just seeing all of these deities as just different aspects of the divine.
