Hecate norse equivalent

Hecate [a] is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythologymost often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, or snakes, or accompanied by horny videos, [4] hecate norse equivalent in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. She is variously associated with crossroadsnight, light, magicprotection from witchcrafthecate norse equivalent, the Moongraves, and ghosts. Her place of origin is debated by scholars, but she had popular followings amongst the witches of Thessaly [7] and an important sanctuary among the Carian Greeks of Asia Minor in Lagina.

Beside the three Norns tending Yggdrasill, pre-Christian Scandinavians attested to Norns who visit a newborn child in order to determine the person's future. The origin of the name norn is uncertain; it may derive from a word meaning 'to twine', which would refer to their twining the thread of fate. This interpretation relates to the perception of norns as shadowy, background figures who only really ever reveal their fateful secrets to people as their fates come to pass. Moreover, artistic license permitted such terms to be used for mortal women in Old Norse poetry. These unclear distinctions among norns and other Germanic female deities are discussed in Bek-Pedersen's book Norns in Old Norse Mythology.

Hecate norse equivalent

After all, mythology is storytelling at its finest. Hecate was a powerful goddess of uncertain origin. 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. Like Athena and Artemis , she was considered a virgin goddess. It is difficult to define Hecate. She does not appear in the Homeric epics and was most likely adopted into the Greek pantheon from the Carians of Asia Minor. What we do know is that she was virtually ubiquitous in ancient Greece, being at once the goddess of witches, the household, crossroads and travel, agriculture, and more. Moreover, the fact that Hecate had a Greek name does not necessarily mean that her cult originated in Greece she more likely emerged from Caria in Asia Minor. Hecate was often identified with a number of other goddesses both Greek and non-Greek , including Artemis, Selene, Persephone , Crataeis, and Brimo. Hecate possessed numerous sometimes contradictory epithets that reflected the many different sides of her nature. The powerful Hecate ruled over many domains.

A wolf and an eagle are carved above the door, hecate norse equivalent. When Philip of Macedon was about to attack the city, according to the legend, she alerted the townspeople with her ever-present torches, and with her pack of dogs, which served as her constant companions. Green, C.

The Mesopotamian valley and the Nile valley fall under this term even though the mountain zone around Mesopotamia is the natural zone for the transition in a historical sense. As a result of a number of unique geographical factors the Fertile Crescent have an impressive history of early human agricultural activity and culture. Besides the numerous archaeological sites with remains of skeletons and cultural relics the area is known primarily for its excavation sites linked to agricultural origins and development of the Neolithic era. It was here, in the forested mountain slopes of the periphery of this area, that agriculture originated in an ecologically restricted environment. During the subsequent PPNB from BC these communities developed into larger villages with farming and animal husbandry as the main source of livelihood, with settlement in the two-story, rectangular house. Man now entered in symbiosis with grain and livestock species, with no opportunity to return to hunter — gatherer societies.

She was the only child of the Titanes Perses and Asteria from whom she received her power over heaven, earth, and sea. Hekate assisted Demeter in her search for Persephone , guiding her through the night with flaming torches. After the mother-daughter reunion became she Persephone's minister and companion in Haides. Three metamorphosis myths describe the origins of her animal familiars: the black she-dog and the polecat a mustelid house pet kept by the ancients to hunt vermin. The dog was the Trojan Queen Hekabe Hecuba who leapt into the sea after the fall of Troy and was transformed by the goddess. The polecat was either the witch Gale, turned as punishment for her incontinence, or Galinthias, midwife of Alkmene Alcmena , who was transformed by the enraged goddess Eileithyia but adopted by the sympathetic Hekate. Hekate was usually depicted in Greek vase painting as a woman holding twin torches. Sometimes she was dressed in a knee-length maiden's skirt and hunting boots, much like Artemis. In statuary Hekate was often depicted in triple form as a goddess of crossroads.

Hecate norse equivalent

She has long been associated with witchcraft and the occult, even necromancy. Her name has been connected to dark magic and disturbing rituals in the works of Shakespeare and well into modern times. She was a goddess of magic and the underworld, but she was also a protector of the home and a guardian of borders. She was also associated with some of the most revered and respected goddesses of Olympus. Most of all, Hecate was a goddess of mystery. Her origins and powers were unexplained and changeable. Like most of the Olympic pantheon, Hecate predates the written mythology of Greece. Long before Hesiod and Homer began writing their poetry, the stories of the gods were passed on through oral tradition.

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Another sacred animal of the goddess Hecate was the polecat or weasel. Iceland represented a remarkable nexus for Norse and Germanic myth and skaldic poetry from AD onward. In the 1st century CE, Ovid wrote: "Look at Hecate, standing guard at the crossroads, one face looking in each direction. Whom she will she greatly aids and advances: she sits by worshipful kings in judgement, and in the assembly whom she will is distinguished among the people. One of them, Leif the Lucky, not only sighted North America near Newfoundland around the year but stayed there for a few years and might have ventured as far south as New England or Long Island. The Learned Banqueters. In: Monaghan, Patricia. See Disir. Rituals honoring Hecate often involved food offerings. Norse Mythology Guide. He noted that the cult regularly practiced dog sacrifice and had secretly buried the body of one of its "queens" with seven dogs. She is usually depicted carrying two torches and surrounded by wolves or dogs.

Myth is the foundation of life; it is the timeless pattern, the religious formula to which life shapes itself…Whereas in the life of mankind the mythical represents an early and primitive stage, in the life of an individual it represents a late and mature one. The following list came from a dozen or so sources, including translations of the Eddas. Where applicable comparisons with Greek and Roman deities appear.

Brings happiness and is kind to women but is prone to depression. Placed on poles or columns, these images—called hecataea singular hecataeon —could often be found before crossroads or even in front of private homes. Magic and witchcraft. Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany. Hecate possibly originated among the Carians of Anatolia , [7] the region where most theophoric names invoking Hecate, such as Hecataeus or Hecatomnus , the father of Mausolus , are attested, [20] and where Hecate remained a Great Goddess into historical times, at her unrivalled [b] cult site in Lagina. Johnston, Sarah Iles, She appears to have been particularly associated with being 'between' and hence is frequently characterized as a " liminal " goddess. There are two versions of this myth. Aside from her own temples, Hecate was also worshipped in the sanctuaries of other gods, where she was apparently sometimes given her own space. Minor Shrines in Ancient Athens. This is because dogs were also the sacred animals of other birth goddesses, such as Eileithyia and Genetyllis. In the course of this beleaguerment, it is related, on a certain wet and moonless night the enemy attempted a surprise, but were foiled by reason of a bright light which, appearing suddenly in the heavens, startled all the dogs in the town and thus roused the garrison to a sense of their danger. Descriptions of them often match those of the Furies. After all, mythology is storytelling at its finest.