Witchvox Article

Author: Priestess Jean
Posted: February 7th. 2010
Times Viewed: 1,754

Those who are familiar with Greek deities know that most of them are not actually native to Greece. As the Greeks explored the ancient world, primarily in the Aegean area and the Near East, they encountered and adopted many foreign deities.

Artemis is one of a later group of deities known as the 12 Olympians, which indicates that she was adopted sometime after the Ionian colonization of western Turkey began.

Some early evidence about Artemis comes to us from the records of the sacred perfumes found in the Palace of Nestor at Pylos, in the southern Peloponnese. The tablets, written in Mycenaean Greek (Linear B) , date to about 1450 BCE. In them we see that several popular deities of that time are to receive between 2-6 quarts of perfume each, however two particular deities are to receive far more... one referred to as "Matere Teija" (the Great Mother) is to receive fully 100 quarts, while the other, "Potnia Aswiya" is to receive 94 quarts.

Potnia Aswiya translates as "mistress of Assuwa". Assuwa is the Hittite name for the area near the delta of the Cayster river, which we call Lydia. As we know, Lydia is on the central west coast of Turkey. Its capitol city is none other than the world famous Ephesus, location of the great Temple of Artemis.

Interestingly, the Greeks knew little about the Turkish goddesses at the time. The perfume allotment was for captured Turkish slave women, who formed the bulk of the workforce at the palace. The real value of these old perfume records lies primarily in demonstrating the existence of a second goddess, close in popularity and status to the Great Mother Herself... and to connect this second goddess to Ephesus.

Ephesus in Lydia has been a sacred place of worship since late Neolithic times. The first known temple of significance was built in the early Bronze Age, circa 2500 BCE. It was originally dedicated to Cybele. The Amazons were great patrons of the temple... indeed, they may even have been its founders. The Amazons were devoted to Cybele, and were quite wealthy and powerful in 2500 BCE... in addition, the original temple contained many statues honoring the Amazons.

By about 1700 BCE, the Amazons came under heavy attack by a number of other kingdoms, and their society entered into a period of retreat and decline. Outnumbered, the last Amazons were killed at the battle of the Thermodon, in 1500 BCE.

The appearance of a warlike version of the Great Mother, in conjunction with the re-dedication of the temple of Ephesus to her, seems to correspond with the change in the fortunes of the Amazons, which occurred around 1700 BCE. Therefore, we might speculate that a modified version of the Goddess was created for the Amazons, at a time of great need, in order to assist them in their battles.

Of course there is no doubt that the new goddess was later called Artemis by the Greeks, but what she was originally called is somewhat of a mystery. Naturally, the older events are less well recorded than things that happened in the classical period. As the worship of Artemis became widespread, different names were used in each locality, adding to the confusion.

A few things that we know for certain are that during the time the temple was dedicated to Cybele, a mix of female and transsexual Priestesses served her, and this practice continued unchanged after the re-dedication. The images of Artemis bear strong resemblance to those of Cybele, and the essential beliefs and practices of the religion remained much the same. Obviously, after the Greeks adopted the goddess, she became westernized, and the religion was significantly altered, to fit into patriarchal Greek society and culture.

It appears then, that the goddess we know today as Artemis was derived from the Great Mother, at the temple of Ephesus in Lydia, about 1700 BCE, in order to assist the Amazons in battle. She was known throughout the Aegean as early as 1450 BCE, although she was most often referred to by titles such as Potnia Aswiya (mistress of Lydia) and Potnia Theron (mistress of animals) . She was adopted into the Greek pantheon circa 1000 BCE under the name of Artemis, and was later worshipped by the Romans as Diana.

Artemis, in her original form, is a wonderful goddess with an amazing history. Her connection to Apollo, the Amazons, and the temple at Ephesus all link her very closely to the Great Mother. And although our ancestors thought of them as two separate deities, I believe it's clear to us now that they are in fact one and the same

As with Artemis, our knowledge of the goddess Hecate comes to us from the Greeks. The explanation for that is quite simple. Following the Trojan War, which occurred around 1200 BCE, the great civilizations of the Bronze Age collapsed, and the Greeks became the dominant power in the region. Their records survived fairly well, however those from the earlier times were mostly destroyed during the war.

According to the Greeks, Hecate is a pre-Olympian goddess... a granddaughter of the Titan god Coeus. Her mother was an Amazon (Asteria) , and she is also a first cousin to Artemis and Apollo. In addition, she is classified as a chthonic deity. All of these factors tend to indicate that Hecate was of Near Eastern origin, and entered the Greek pantheon prior to the Trojan War, during the Mycenaean period.

The Theogony a religious text written by the Greek author Hesiod around 800 BCE tends to confirm the age of Hecate. In it, the author speaks of her as being very well established at that time, and portrays her as a benevolent Mother Goddess archetype.

Based on linguistic evidence, most historians seem to feel that Hecate comes originally from Caria, on the west coast of Turkey. If that is correct, it's quite interesting... since the temple of Ephesus is located in Lydia, just a few miles north of the border with Caria.

It is well known that the worship of Hecate was extremely popular in Caria, especially in Hellenic times. She had a major sanctuary located at Lagina, built before the Trojan War, where both female and transsexual Priestesses often served her, in much the same way as Artemis and Cybele. Indeed, her worship seems so similar that many scholars see her as simply another incarnation of the Great Mother.

As with Artemis, the fact that we find statues and carvings depicting Hecate and Cybele standing side by side clearly shows that they were regarded as separate deities. Although, in our modern view, we tend to regard them as aspects of a single Great Mother Goddess, apparently the ancients did not. So what did they perceive as the difference between them, and why was Hecate originally created?

Having no reliable archeological evidence, I can only offer the following theory. Hecate has been found in Thrace since very early times. Thrace is located in a "crossroads area", through which many ancient armies have marched... and consequently, it has experienced almost constant warfare. Since Thrace was a close ally of Lydia and Caria, it seems possible that Hecate was created in either Ephesus or Lagina, in much the same way that Artemis was... to honor an ally, and bring them strength in battle. Hecate's title, "guardian of the crossroads", makes perfect sense in that light.

Later in the classical era, Hecate evolved into a darker deity. Although her original sacrifice animal was the dog (Thracians ate dog) they began to make human sacrifices, usually of captured enemy soldiers. In addition, attempts to invoke the goddess to harm their enemies probably established a reputation of sorcery and black magic among her followers.

Based on that, Hecate eventually became a goddess of witches in medieval Europe... and today, she has evolved into a popular deity in Wiccan circles (no pun intended) . Many modern people mistakenly refer to Hecate as a triple goddess, however Robert Graves in fact created that concept in the mid-20th century. In ancient times, Hecate was shown facing in three directions simply because as guardian of the crossroads she must always be watchful.

In her original form, Hecate was another benevolent Mother Goddess archetype. Much like Artemis, she had some martial aspects... she was a huntress, often shown with weapons, but she was also a protector of children. It's unfortunate that people have transformed Hecate into such a frightening and sinister entity, but by knowing the facts about this famous ancient goddess, we can appreciate her warmth and beauty in the way that she truly deserves.

Bright Blessings,

Priestess Jean

Footnotes:
Sarah P.Morris, 8th International Aegean Conference, at Goteborg University (April 2000) .

Florence Mary Bennett, Religious Cults Associated With the Amazons (1912) .

Wikipedia, etc.

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