[3], Due to lack of clear references to Qetesh as a distinct deity in Ugaritic and other Syro-Palestinian sources, she is considered an Egyptian deity influenced by religion and iconography of Canaan by many modern researchers, rather than merely a Canaanite deity adopted by the Egyptians (examples of which include Reshef and Anat). Known to represent the three stages of man, Youth, Father, and Sage, the Horned God symbolizes the good intent. From whom we do exist and cease to be, World Goddesses List | 350+ Names Sorted by Responsibility In early portrayals she is shown as a naked woman standing upon a lion. The concept of a triple deity can be traced back to ancient civilizations, such as the Celtic goddess Brighid, who rules over three crucial skills within Celtic society: healing, poetry, and smithcraft. She is good in the byre with Hermes to increase the stock. [26], Hecate was generally represented as three-formed or triple-bodied, though the earliest known images of the goddess are singular. [126] In Athens, Hecate, along with Zeus, Hermes, Athena, Hestia, and Apollo, were very important in daily life as they were the main gods of the household. [72], From her father Perses, Hecate is often called Perseis (meaning daughter of Perses)[73][74] which is also the name of one of the Oceanid nymphs, Helios wife and Circes mother in other versions. The crone symbolizes elderly women and the wisdom which comes with aging. But what we do know is that this fascinating goddess held dominion over contradictory themes: war (and violence and death), plagues (diseases), and healing and medicine. [123], Hesiod's inclusion and praise of Hecate in the Theogony has been troublesome for scholars, in that he seems to hold her in high regard, while the testimony of other writers, and surviving evidence, suggests that this may have been the exception. Danu - Mythopedia However, Sekhmet is forgotten. [28], Hecate's cult became established in Athens about 430 BCE. 362, and note, 411413, 424425), whose enthumion, the quasi-technical word designating their longing for vengeance, was much dreaded. The yawning gates of Hades were guarded by the monstrous watchdog Cerberus, whose function was to prevent the living from entering the underworld, and the dead from leaving it."[64]. Images of her attended by a dog[35] are also found at times when she is shown as in her role as mother goddess with child, and when she is depicted alongside the god Hermes and the goddess Cybele in reliefs. She was worshipped widely in Lower Egypt as a great Mother Goddess in the Predynastic Period (c. 6000- c. 3150 BCE) and so is among the older deities of Egypt. Pinch Geraldine (2003) Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press. Eg: in the battle of Kadesh, she is visualized on the horses of Ramesses II, her flames scorching the bodies of enemy soldiers. [66] Nevertheless, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter shows Helios and Hecate informing Demeter of Persephone's abduction, a common theme found in many parts of the world where the Sun and the Moon are questioned concerning events that happen on earth based on their ability to witness everything[66] and implies Hecate's capacity as a moon goddess in the hymn. 264 f., and notes, 275277, ii. Triple goddess - General Discussion - The Spells8 Forum "[92] She was most commonly worshipped in nature, where she had many natural sanctuaries. Sekhmets uncontrolled bloodlust, aggression, and domain over divine retribution, life, and death reminds one of the Hindu goddess Kali. Osiris, one of Egypt's most important deities, was god of the underworld. 7000 jars of red beer are spread over the land during the night. There was also a shrine to Hecate in Aigina, where she was very popular: Of the gods, the Aiginetans worship most Hecate, in whose honour every year they celebrate mystic rites which, they say, Orpheus the Thrakian established among them. She holds a snake in one hand and a bouquet of lotus or papyrus flowers in the other. Additional possible triads are Artemis, Selene, and Hecate or Persephone, Demeter, and Hekate. Beginning during the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, a Semitic goddess named Qetesh ("holiness", sometimes reconstructed as Qudshu) appears prominently. [4][5], The functions of Qetesh in Egyptian religion are hard to determine due to lack of direct references, but her epithets (especially the default one, "lady of heaven") might point at an astral character, and lack of presence in royal cult might mean that she was regarded as a protective goddess mostly by commoners. [19][20], Modern egyptologists, such as Christiane Zivie-Coche, do not consider Qetesh to be a hypostasis of Anat or Astarte, but a goddess developed in Egypt possibly without a clear forerunner among Canaanite or Syrian goddesses, though given a Semitic name and associated mostly with foreign deities.[21]. The Origin of Hotdogs, The History of Boracay Island in The Philippines. In ancient Egyptian mythology, Horus injured his left eye during his battles with the god Set, and thus his left eye represents the waxing and waning of the moon. The Mistress and Lady of the tomb, gracious one, destroyer of rebellion, mighty one of enchantments, 7. [17][18] One of the authors relying on the Anat-Ashtart-Athirat trinity theory is Saul M. Olyan (author of Asherah and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel) who calls the Qudshu-Astarte-Anat plaque "a triple-fusion hypostasis", and considers Qudshu to be an epithet of Athirat by a process of elimination, for Astarte and Anat appear after Qudshu in the inscription. Her approach was heralded by the howling of a dog. This can be compared to Pausanias' report that in the Ionian city of Colophon in Asia Minor a sacrifice of a black female puppy was made to Hecate as "the wayside goddess", and Plutarch's observation that in Boeotia dogs were killed in purificatory rites. [75] In one version of Hecate's parentage, she is the daughter of Perses not the son of Crius but the son of Helios, whose mother is the Oceanid Perse. According to Memphite theology, Sekhmet was the first-born daughter of Ra. Some of the significant ones are listed below: 1. How old is the United States of America? Goddess of boundaries, transitions, crossroads, magic, the New Moon, necromancy, and ghosts. "[28], Apart from traditional hekataia, Hecate's triplicity is depicted in the vast frieze of the great Pergamon Altar, now in Berlin, wherein she is shown with three bodies, taking part in the battle with the Titans. In the Old Kingdom, the priests of Sekhmet are an organized phyle and from a slightly later date, in its extant copy, the Ebers papyrus attributes to these priests a detailed knowledge of the heart. [138] Schwemer believes that this use of Ereshkigal's name merely furnished "the Greek Netherworld goddess with a mysterious-sounding, foreign name". She was invoked to ward off diseases. She was usually called the daughter of the Titans Asteria and Perses, but there were many alternate versions of her parentage, including some that made her a daughter of Zeus.Though Hecate was most commonly depicted as a sinister goddess of magic, witchcraft, and the Underworld, she was sometimes portrayed as kind and helpful. Goddess Crystals - Crystal Vaults Religion in ancient Rome; Marcus Aurelius (head covered) . The concept of Athirat, Anat and Ashtart as a trinity and the only prominent goddesses in the entire region (popularized by authors like Tikva Frymer-Kensky) is modern and ignores the large role of other female deities, for example Shapash, in known texts, as well as the fact El appears to be the deity most closely linked to Athirat in primary It remained common practice in English to pronounce her name in two syllables, even when spelled with final e, well into the 19th century. Goddess of Fertility, Rebirth, and Magic In addition to being the fertile wife of Osiris, Isis is honored for her role as the mother of Horus, one of Egypt's most powerful gods. This line of reasoning lies behind the widely accepted hypothesis that she was a foreign deity who was incorporated into the Greek pantheon. In the Greek pantheon, Apollo was the god of medicine and often brought down plagues to punish mankind. [103] The Deipnon is always followed the next day by the Noumenia,[104] when the first sliver of the sunlit Moon is visible, and then the Agathos Daimon the day after that. Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 4. [52] She is also sometimes associated with cypress, a tree symbolic of death and the underworld, and hence sacred to a number of chthonic deities. Sekhmet represented the Lower Nile region (north Egypt). Diana (mythology) - Wikipedia 1. Qetesh is a goddess of Semetic origin. As a goddess of sovereignty and power, Danu would grant gifts to rulers and those of noble birth. For understanding of the Triple Goddess, the Moon Goddess, and other common themes . She was associated with witchcraft, magic, the Moon, doorways, and creatures of the night like hell-hounds and ghosts. "[27] A 6th century fragment of pottery from Boetia depicts a goddess which may be Hecate in a maternal or fertility mode. Hecate was seen as a triple deity, identified with the goddesses Luna (Moon) in the sky and Diana (hunting) on the earth, while she represents the Underworld. And the son of Cronos made her a nurse of the young who after that day saw with their eyes the light of all-seeing Dawn. 5. [10] In what appears to be a 7th-century indication of the survival of cult practices of this general sort, Saint Eligius, in his Sermo warns the sick among his recently converted flock in Flanders against putting "devilish charms at springs or trees or crossroads",[62] and, according to Saint Ouen would urge them "No Christian should make or render any devotion to the deities of the trivium, where three roads meet". [12] However, no sources suggested list will or willingness as a major attribute of Hecate, which makes this possibility unlikely. Grandmother of the three cousins was Phoebe[123] the ancient Titan goddess whose name was often used for the moon goddess. The origin of the name Hecate (, Hekt) and the original country of her worship are both unknown, though several theories have been proposed. Qetesh - Wikipedia ", deEste, Sorita. Pages 57 to 64, Roscher, 1889; Heckenbach, 2781; Rohde, ii. She was also the patron of physicians and healers. "page21 (image of Hecate attended by a dog)", "CULT OF HEKATE: Ancient Greek religion", "Travels in Greece and Turkey: Undertaken by Order of Louis XVI, and with the Authority of the Ottoman Court", Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Claviger, "Baktria, Kings, Agathokles, ancient coins index with thumbnails", "No Fear Shakespeare: Macbeth: Act 2, Scene 1, Page 2", Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. 7. 2. However, Sekhmet is a solar goddess. It was called Psamite, because Hecate was honoured with a cake, which was called psamiton (). It was Alkamenes, in my opinion, who first made three images of Hecate attached to one another [in Athens].[88]. In ancient Egyptor Kemet, as it was known to its people at the timeone key concept was the relationship among three deities, Asar, Aset, and Heru. In Neopaganism, the triple goddess appears in the form of three aspects of womanhood, representing the maiden, the mother, and the crone. [15] Though often considered the most likely Greek origin of the name, the theory does not account for her worship in Asia Minor, where her association with Artemis seems to have been a late development, and the competing theories that the attribution of darker aspects and magic to Hecate were themselves not originally part of her cult. Medusa came to Greece from Libya as the Serpent Goddess, and the destroyer aspect of the Great Triple Goddess. There were over 2,000 deities in the Egyptian pantheon, many whose names are well known - Isis, Osiris, Horus, Amun, Ra, Hathor, Bastet, Thoth, Anubis, and Ptah among others - but many more less so who were also important. The Athenian Greeks honoured Hecate during the Deipnon. Some triple goddess that I know of are the following: Greek: Hekate (Hecate), Selene, and Persephone. She has three faces for her role as the goddess of boundaries and the guardian of . Antoninus Liberalis used a myth to explain this association: Aelian told a different story of a woman transformed into a polecat: Athenaeus of Naucratis, drawing on the etymological speculation of Apollodorus of Athens, notes that the red mullet is sacred to Hecate, "on account of the resemblance of their names; for that the goddess is trimorphos, of a triple form". The Triple Goddess is arguably the most important deity in the vast majority of Pagan and Wiccan pantheons. [12], The arguments presenting Qetesh and Asherah as the same goddess rely on the erroneous notion that Asherah, Astarte and Anat were the only three prominent goddesses in the religion of ancient Levant, and formed a trinity. [140], In the earliest written source mentioning Hecate, Hesiod emphasized that she was an only child, the daughter of Perses and Asteria, the sister of Leto (the mother of Artemis and Apollo). The Triple Goddess - The Bridging Tree "[28], Like Hecate, "the dog is a creature of the threshold, the guardian of doors and portals, and so it is appropriately associated with the frontier between life and death, and with demons and ghosts which move across the frontier. (Most Americans today know them better by the names the Greeks gave them: Osiris, Isis, and Horus, respectively.) An inscription on the statue is a dedication to Hecate, in writing of the style of the 6th century, but it otherwise lacks any other symbols typically associated with the goddess. Hecate was known by a number of epithets: Hecate has been characterized as a pre-Olympian chthonic goddess. Inscriptions of many of the statues declare that Sekhmet and Bastet are different aspects of Hathor. "[c] [28] Like Hermes, Hecate takes on the role of guardian not just of roads, but of all journeys, including the journey to the afterlife. Chapter in the book The Goddess Hekate: Studies in Ancient Pagan and Christian Philosophy edited by Stephen Ronan. [citation needed], During the Gigantomachy, Hecate fought by the side of the Olympian gods, and slew the giant Clytius using her torches. In the pyramid texts, Sekhmet is written to be the mother of the kings reborn in the afterlife. See Heckenbach, p. 2776 and references. She was a warrior goddess. [84] thou who are pre-eminent, who riseth in the seat of silence who is mightier than the gods who are the source, the mother, from whence souls come and who makest a place for them in the hidden underworld And the abode of everlastingness. This description matches completely with that of the Triple Goddess, a deity who presides over birth, life, and death.[4]. Regarding the nature of her cult, it has been remarked, "she is more at home on the fringes than in the centre of Greek polytheism. Qetesh (also Qadesh, Qedesh, Qetesh, Kadesh, Kedesh, Kade or Qades /kd/) was a goddess who was incorporated into the ancient Egyptian religion in the late Bronze Age. Her name was likely developed by the Egyptians based on the Semitic root Q-D- meaning 'holy' or 'blessed,'[2] attested as a title of El and possibly Athirat and a further independent deity in texts from Ugarit. Qetesh's sexuality led to a natural association with the Egyptian goddess Hathor. Dogs, with puppies often mentioned, were offered to Hecate at crossroads, which were sacred to the goddess. Apollonius of Rhodes, in the Argonautica mentions that Medea was taught by Hecate, "I have mentioned to you before a certain young girl whom Hecate, daughter of Perses, has taught to work in drugs. [141][142] In various later accounts, Hecate was given different parents. 2. Most display systematic mutilations of specific parts, especially the head and arms. Sekhmet is believed to have 4000 names that described her many attributes. Martha Ann & Dorothy Myers Imel (1993) Goddesses in World Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 5. "[49], The goddess is described as wearing oak in fragments of Sophocles' lost play The Root Diggers (or The Root Cutters), and an ancient commentary on Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica (3.1214) describes her as having a head surrounded by serpents, twining through branches of oak.[50]. Mooney, Carol M., "Hekate: Her Role and Character in Greek Literature from before the Fifth Century B.C." Is it a coincidence that the mother of the Virgin Mary is called Anna and that there is a Mary of . [7] However, it is clear that the special position given to Hecate by Zeus is upheld throughout her history by depictions found on coins of Hecate on the hand of Zeus[127] as highlighted in more recent research presented by d'Este and Rankine. In Sanskrit it's Medha, in Greek Metis, and in Egyptian she is Ma'at herself. [128], In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (composed c. 600 BCE), Hecate is called "tender-hearted", an epithet perhaps intended to emphasize her concern with the disappearance of Persephone, when she assisted Demeter with her search for Persephone following her abduction by Hades, suggesting that Demeter should speak to the god of the Sun, Helios. Lady of Life: Spells exist that regard plagues as brought by the messengers of Sekhmet. Egyptian Protection Symbols 10. [29][28] Some hekataia, including a votive sculpture from Attica of the 3rd century BCE, include additional dancing figures identified as the Charites circling the triple Hecate and her central column. Myths change upon who is writing them, where, and when. Ankh This ancient Egyptian hieroglyph means life or living. [25]Webster's Dictionary of 1866 particularly credits the influence of Shakespeare for the then-predominant disyllabic pronunciation of the name. In the Amarna period, Amenhoteps name was systematically erased from inscriptions of the thrones, then methodically re-inscribed at the end of the 18th dynasty.[2]. The ancient text is corrupted; an alternative correction of the name into 'Phoebus' (that is, Apollo) has been also suggested. Priests of Sekhmet became known as skilled doctors. [28] The frog, which was also the symbol of the similarly named Egyptian goddess Heqet,[46] has also become sacred to Hecate in modern pagan literature, possibly due in part to its ability to cross between two elements. Kek and Heqet: Egyptian Frog Gods Who Inspired A Meme - Realm of History Roel Sterckx, Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. Every culture has esoteric practices, knowledge, and deities to represent both. When the center of power shifted from Memphis to Thebes during the New Kingdom, her attributes were absorbed into Mut. Rohde, i. Subsequent studies tried to find further evidence for equivalence of Qetesh and Asherah, despite dissimilar functions and symbols. Aside from her own temples, Hecate was also worshipped in the sanctuaries of other gods, where she was apparently sometimes given her own space. Sometimes she is also stated to be the mother (by Aetes[76]) of the goddess Circe and the sorceress Medea,[154] who in later accounts was herself associated with magic while initially just being a herbalist goddess, similar to how Hecate's association with Underworld and Mysteries had her later converted into a deity of witchcraft. Adopted by the pharaohs as a symbol of their own unvanquishable heroism in battle, she breathes fire against the kings enemies. Amulets depict her as seated or standing, holding a papyrus-shaped scepter. The History of Guns, Greek Mythology: Stories, Characters, Gods, and Culture, Aztec Mythology: Important Stories and Characters, Greek Gods and Goddesses: Family Tree and Fun Facts, Roman Gods and Goddesses: The Names and Stories of 29 Ancient Roman Gods, The Dark Goddess: Dancing with the Shadow, https://arce.org/resource/statues-sekhmet-mistress-dread/#:~:text=A%20mother%20goddess%20in%20the,as%20a%20lion%2Dheaded%20woman, https://egyptianmuseum.org/deities-sekhmet, Skadi: The Norse Goddess of Skiing, Hunting, and Pranks, Druids: The Ancient Celtic Class That Did It All, iPhone History: A Timeline of Every Model in Order, US History Timeline: The Dates of Americas Journey, Ancient Civilizations Timeline: The Complete List from Aboriginals to Incans, Why Are Hot Dogs Called Hot Dogs? [6] Her oldest known representation was found in Selinunte, in Sicily. The sanctuary is built upon a hill, at the bottom of which is an Altar of the Winds, and on it the priest sacrifices to the winds one night in every year. Hecate, goddess accepted at an early date into Greek religion but probably derived from the Carians in southwest Asia Minor. I worship Hekate but have not worked with her personally. [21], William Berg observes, "Since children are not called after spooks, it is safe to assume that Carian theophoric names involving hekat- refer to a major deity free from the dark and unsavoury ties to the underworld and to witchcraft associated with the Hecate of classical Athens. Hecate was one of several deities worshipped in ancient Athens as a protector of the oikos (household), alongside Zeus, Hestia, Hermes, and Apollo. "In Byzantium small temples in her honour were placed close to the gates of the city. Serket (also known as Serqet, Selkis, and Selket) is an Egyptian goddess of protection associated with the scorpion. Looking at Egypt, Isis is the only deity that one can conceive of as being esoteric because she brought back her husband from the dead. [139], Hecate is also referenced in the Gnostic text Pistis Sophia. All' ei tis humn en Samothraikei memuemenos esti, The play Plutus by Aristophanes (388 BCE), line 594 any translation will do or. Sekhmet - Wikipedia Esoteric is that which is beyond the ordinary. Limestone fragments discovered from the valley temple of Sneferu (dynasty IV) at Dahshur depict the monarchs head closely juxtaposed to the muzzle of a lioness deity (presumed to be Sekhmet) as if to symbolize Sneferu breathing in the divine life force emanating from the goddesss mouth. "[60] This suggests that Hecate's close association with dogs derived in part from the use of watchdogs, who, particularly at night, raised an alarm when intruders approached. Mistress of Ankhtawy (life of the two lands, a name for Memphis). Barret Clive (1996) The Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, Diamond Books, 10. She became the patroness of the Nile Delta and the protector of all of Lower Egypt. The triple moon symbol, also called the triple goddess symbol, is represented by two crescent moons flanking a full moon. So from the beginning she is a nurse of the young, and these are her honours. In Sophocles and Euripides she is characterized as the mistress of witchcraft and the Keres. Home shrines often took the form of a small Hekataion, a shrine centred on a wood or stone carving of a triple Hecate facing in three directions on three sides of a central pillar. 7), dated to the late 3rd or early 4th century CE, Hecate Erschigal is invoked against fear of punishment in the afterlife. A medieval commentator has suggested a link connecting the word "jinx" with Hecate: "The Byzantine polymath Michael Psellus [] speaks of a bullroarer, consisting of a golden sphere, decorated throughout with symbols and whirled on an oxhide thong. [33][133], Hecate is the primary feminine figure in the Chaldean Oracles (2nd3rd century CE),[134] where she is associated in fragment 194 with a strophalos (usually translated as a spinning top, or wheel, used in magic) "Labour thou around the Strophalos of Hecate. "Hekate: Representations in Art", Hekate Her Sacred Fires, ed. So, then, albeit her mother's only child, she is honored amongst all the deathless gods. Known sources do not associate her with fertility or sex, and theories presenting her as a "sacred harlot" are regarded as obsolete in modern scholarship due to lack of evidence. Hecate or Hekate [a] is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, [1] and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. Sometimes she is seen as the daughter of Geb and Nut, and sometimes as the principal daughter of Ra. Hecate or Hekate[a] is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs,[1] and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. This aligns with the pyramid texts mentioning that Sekhmet conceived the king. She was one of the earliest Egyptian deities and was often depicted as a cobra, as she is the serpent goddess. As the holder of the keys that can unlock the gates between realms, she can unlock the gates of death, as described in a 3rd-century BCE poem by Theocritus.