#pre-hellenic

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A Short History of Myth | Karen Armstrong

I loved this book, A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong so much. It is thought provoking and packed with mythology and stories. It critiques the relationship between myth and history, challenging traditional interpretations. reflecting tension between the concepts of myth and historical narrative. I’ve been on a long study about ancient mythology, specifically pre-hellenic mythology and…

A Short History of Myth | Karen Armstrong

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Artemis

As previously mentioned, Artemis is my favorite god from the hellenic greek pantheon.  But, she has a much earlier origin.  And like other gods incorporated into the olympian pantheon, her character and purpose were altered to fit a patriarchal belief system that demonized the feminine divine.  

Like the later olympian pantheon, the earlier Artemis was connected to the moon.  She also had connections to the other lunar gods, Selene and Hekate.  Strangely, she seems to have partially usurped the former in the later mythology.

In the earlier worship of the god, she represents the new moon and all that was new.  Thus, she was a god of childbirth, that of both humans and animals.  These traits were carried through to the later Olympian portrayal, although her importance and independence were eroded.  

In the olympian pantheon, Artemis retained her position as a god of nature.  Originally her worship was that of a god of life, but in the hellenic tradition she was associated with hunting (a violent and masculine pursuit.)  Unnecessarily, she was given a twin brother. And perhaps most demeaning, the role of a virgin.  The male mind is quite limited, and to it women could only be virgins, mothers, or whores, as if a man has any power to fundamentally change a woman’s identity.  

To add to the offense, the hellenic tradition has Artemis “granted” the right to remain a virgin by her father.  Certainly, that is blatant patriarchy.  In a further insult to this revered god, one of the most well known stories of greek mythology, the “Iliad.” Artemis is reduced to “’a feeble and even ridiculous part.’”  A peculiar coincidence then, that men are feeble and ridiculous (subconscious projection much?).  

What else is there to say?  She was insulted by a man and changed him into a stag, which was immediately eaten by his own dogs.  That’s pretty cool.  There is also evidence that her earlier worship in hellenic times involved human sacrifice (hopefully of men), and that’s even better.

However, the olympian mythology also had her murder a bunch of innocent children.  Since she was originally a god of new life and childbirth, that was a disgusting addition to her mythology.  

Artemis was widely worshipped in the rural regions of Greece. Her roman counterpart was Diana, who was not as important in the roman pantheon.  Her worship was more limited than Artemis’, although her characteristics remained the same.  She was a god of hunting and the wild.

Originally Artemis was a god of female power, and that is what I am drawn to the most.  Her association with childbirth was a recognition of the inherent power and importance of women.  Only women can create new life.  No matter how much men oppressed and continue to oppress women, they will never have that power.  They are jealous of the power of women, and at some level, they realize their inferiority.  It consumes them.  It is their weakness.  It terrifies them.

But back to Artemis, she represents power and independence.  In her origin, she was wild and untamed, but compassionate at the same time.  I chose to ignore the later tradition that reduced her to the child of a sky-daddy god, who was a rapist and monster.  

Sources:

“Lost Goddesses of Early Greece” Charlene Spretnak

“The Dictionary of Mythology” J. A. Coleman, ed. George Davidson

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"The Minoan Path: Walking with Ariadne's Tribe Walk the sacred labyrinth with Ariadne, loving goddess of ancient Crete who lives on in the hearts and minds of the modern world. This is not a reconstructionist tradition, but a journey of modern Pagans in relationship with Minoan deities in the contemporary world. Ariadne's thread reaches across the millennia to connect us with the divine. Will you follow where it leads?" Post by Laura Perry

One of Laura Perry’s fascinating articles about the pre-hellenic Minoan belief system and pantheon.  

Her Facebook group is called Ariadne's Tribe,  I recommend it for anyone who is interested in ancient Crete and the Minoans, as well as Minoan paganism.  

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In pre-hellenic mythology, Persephone was a highly revered ancient goddess and daughter of Demeter.  While Persephone loved spending time with her mother, the restless souls of the dead began to concern her.  She felt sorry for them, as they had no place to go.  Against her mother’s wishes, she decided to descend deep into the earth in order to establish an underworld in which the spirits of the dead could rest in piece.

“As she stood before [the dead], Her aura increased in brightness and in warmth.”

She said to the spirits, “I am Persephone and I have come to be your Queen.”  She spent months tirelessly embracing the dead and blessing them with tranquility.

But on earth, her mother missed her terribly.  The plants withered as Demeter mourned her daughter’s absence.  After many months, her daughter returned to the world of the living and the two rejoiced and danced.  During this time, life on earth was lush and renewed.  However, for part of each year, Persephone returned to the underworld to fulfill her duties as Queen.  And Demeter would wait, embraced by the winter of her creation.

The abduction of Persephone by Hades is not present in the original mythology.  In the pre-hellenic version, she willingly descended into the underworld to care for the spirits of the deceased.  The abduction was likely added later by the patriarchal invaders to represent their invasion and conquest of the previously matrifocal societies to the south.  

Additional, the altered story may represent a very real custom of the ancient greeks, that of young girls being given to old men.  Either interpretation is revolting.  

Quotes are from Lost Goddesses of Early Greece by Charlene Spretnak

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Statue of Hera from Olympia Museum 2008

Temple of Hera at Olympia 2015

Hera was originally a mother goddess who represented women and fecundity in pre-hellenic Greece.  Her role was bastardized by patriarchal invaders, who downgraded her to a mere wife of their quintessential sky-father, Zeus.

“Hera was indigenous and represents a matrilineal system...her temple at Olympia is distinct from and far earlier than that of Zeus.  Her first husband, or rather consort, was Herakles.”

Although she was an object of mockery in later Olympian myth, the transformation of Hera from all powerful goddess to bitter wife represents a fundamental change in the culture of the area.  The egalitarian matrifocal society of the pre-hellenic era was invaded by patriarchy and the suppression of the feminine divine.  The myth of Hera represents that invasion, “...she reflects the turbulent native princess, coerced but never really subdued by an alien conqueror.”

Quotes from Lost Goddesses of Early Greece by Charlene Spretnak