#kratais

[rosesforhekate101]

Hekate and Her Consorts

Hekate and Her Consorts

Hekate is a Goddess with many aspects and roles in mythology and some of these are so overpowering that others can get lost in the glare of belief that ancient culture was an homogenous whole. One example of this is her role as a Goddess alone, virgin and (by extension) unwed and unfettered by attachment to any male be they God or Mortal but on closer inspection this is not actually the case.…

View On WordPress

[nehetisingsforhekate]

Epithets: Krataiis

Epithets: Krataiis/Kratais: The Strong, the Mighty, or the Rocky.

Many people have heard of Kratos, thanks to the God of War franchise, but few realize that there are Gods by that name. Kratos may be God of Force, one of the beings in the service of Ares, but Kratais is much more complicated.

…sail too close Skylla’s disgusting hiding place - deadly Ausonian Skylla, whom Hekate, that night wanderer known as Kratais, once bore to Phorkys – lest with horrible jaws agape she spring on them and destroy the pick of the heroes… - lines 827-831, Book IV of the Argonautika, Apollonios Rhodios, trans. Peter Green.

Homer tells us that Kratais is the mother of Skylla, the monster of the deep that threatens Odysseus’ ship. Apollonios Rhodios believed that Kratais was a gloss for Hekate. Akousilaos believed similarly. This suggests that Hekate has a relationship with Phorkys, one of the Gods of the Sea. Eustathius likewise suggests that Skylla’s mother was Hekate.

There are other sources that believe Kratais to be a separate being, a Goddess of Might.

I find it personally interesting that Skylla could be Hekate’s daughter, as one of the stories tells us that Skylla was once a beautiful woman, until Kirke (Hekate’s priestess and in some stories, Her granddaughter) poisoned her and turned Skylla into the many headed-monster that haunts the Straits of Messina.

Theoi tells us that Krataiis is Keto, the mother of many monsters, and grim forces. According to Hesiod, Keto gave birth to Phorkys’ children, the Graeae, the Gorgones, Ekhidna, and the Drakones. This Goddess is the child of Pontos and Gaia, a daughter of Sea and Earth. If Hekate and Krataiis be the same, Hekate has brought many things into the world, much like the ocean from whence life comes.

As part of the portfolio of powers that Hekate bears, the epithet emphasizes the Trioditis as a power of the Ocean and of a great magnitude. In the 19th century the epithet was also understood to represent Hekate’s power over the restless dead.

To my mind, it seems that the path to connect with Hekate Krataiis is through the sea. This is hardly the only oceanic epithet of my Lady, but it is one of the more overwhelming ones. It may be appropriate to give Her offerings at the seashore, or to offer salt water. I would also recommend offering activities which serve to strengthen you in some way, whether that be a physical strength or some other sense of strength.  To embody Kratais. 

 Sources:

Theoi.com

Apollonios Rhodios. The Argonautika: Expanded Edition, trans. Peter Green. Univ. Cali, 2007. The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. 11, Werner, 1898. Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy. Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins, Univ. Cali, 1959. Harrison, Jane Ellen. Myths of the Odyssey in Art and Literature. Rivingtons, 1882. Knotmagick. “Queen of Heaven, Sea and Underworld,” blog, at: https://knotmagick101.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/queen-of-heaven-sea-and-underworld/

 Images:

“The Sea Monster Skylla,” terracotta, 5th c. BCE, found on Aegina. Via Wikicommons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skylla_BM_621.jpg Late Roman mosaic from the Trajan Baths of Acholla: Phorcys (middle), Ceto (right), and poss. Triton or Thaumas (left). From the Bardo Museum, Tunis. Via wikicommons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phorkys_Mosaic_Bardo.jpg