Eater of Filth, Eater of Excrements
To Moirai, Destinies, /Malignities,
To Famine, Jealousy, to those who died
Untimely deaths and those dead violently,
I’m sending food: Three-headed Goddess, Lady
of Night, who feed on filth, O Virgin, thou
Key-holding Persephassa, Kore Out of Tartaros…
-PGM IV.1390-1495, Lines 1400-1404, trans. Betz.
Versnel draws a connection between the Deipnon, the meal for Hekate offered at three-way crossroads or by one’s doorway, and this epithet, thanks to the habit of offering the detritus of the home altars for the month prior. Further he indicates the Enodia is likewise associated with excrements.
Burkert, on the other hand, suggests that there is some apotropaic power inherent in feces, speaking of a tradition in parts of Europe for thieves to leave their excrement at the scene of the crime in order to avoid being caught. He then draws one’s attention to Hekate as a goddess of panic and the role of her aspect of Borborophorba.
For Rabinowitz, Hekate’s role as a Goddess of Fertility and with her connection to the Chthonic domain, naturally suggests Borborophorba. He says that Hekate has custody of all uncleanliness, and that this is intrinsic to her role in purifications and the crossroads.
The syllables of this epithet are found often enough in the voces magicae, those ‘barbaric words’ that were spoken without a clear meaning in many of the spells of the PGM. The clearest example of which being in PGM VII.652-60: BORBORBA PHORPHOR PHORBA. This spell is one calling on the characteristics of Typhon to induce insomnia in its victims.
Witches are, in Greek Literature at least, associated with a wide range of intrusive and unacceptable actions, ranging from disturbing the dead to disrupting the social order. It seems natural to me that Hekate would likewise cross boundaries that are unacceptable to other Gods. Hekate takes the refuse from our offerings and, in accepting them, purifies the household.
I wonder if this particular epithet isn’t derived from that apotropaic power, inspired by Her sacred animal, the dog, who eats his own excrement. I am also reminded that many ancient healing recipes used feces as a binder and as a component, some of which were ingested. As a Goddess associated with pharmacology, and baneful herbs in particular, I wonder if we couldn’t perceive some connection with this epithet and Her role as a Healing Goddess? I fear that might be pushing the limit a little, but as we only know of this one occasion where Hekate is the Eater of Excrement, who knows?
Of course, as a trait described in (and only in) the PGM, it is unclear when this epithet came to Hekate, or how it came to pass. The PGM is late in Her cultus, and reflects the ideas of a particular subset of devotees, those magicians and witches who travelled, providing their magical services as necessary.
As the Deipnon, and Hekate’s Modern Festivals on the 16th and 30th of November approach, now might be a good time to offer praise unto Hekate Borborophorba.
Khaire, Hekate Borborophorba!
Take this detritus from my life,
Transform it to your will,
O Goddess,
That my life be purged of its taint,
And I will bring you gifts,
Of poem and song,
Of paint and praise,
In your honor,
Full of Gratitude,
I will be.
If you lift this burden,
If you help me cleanse this life,
which you have given me.
Betz, Hans Dieter. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation: including the Demotic Spells, Chicago, 1996.
Burkert, Walter. Creation of the Sacred: Tracks of Biology in Early Religions, Harvard, 1998.
Rabinowitz, Jacob. The Rotting Goddess: The Origin of the Witch in Classical Antiquity, Autonomedia, 1998.
Versnel, Henk. Coping with the Gods: Wayward Readings in Greek Theology, Brill, 2011.
Dall’Orto, Giovanni. “Terracotta Bathtub,” 2nd c. BCE, now in the Archaeological Museum of Palermo, photo, 2006. Via wikicommons:
