Artemis and Hecate

Two Mother Goddess archetypes from the Near East, related to Cybele, have become so popular and well known in modern times that it would impossible to write any sort of Goddess history without mentioning them.

Like so many other deities, Artemis comes to us through the Greeks... yet as we know, she is not actually native to Greece. As the Greeks explored the ancient world, primarily in the area of the Aegean Sea and the Near East, they encountered and adopted many foreign deities.

Artemis is one of a group of deities known as the 12 Olympians , which indicates that she was officially adopted by the Greeks sometime after the Trojan War, during the Ionian colonization of western Turkey. She was regarded as the sister of Apollo, who was also an adopted Turkish deity (i.e. Apaliunas). Yet if dig a bit deeper, we can find some evidence that the Greeks had at least a vague awareness of Artemis several centuries earlier.

The earliest mention of Artemis comes to us from the records of the sacred perfumes found in the Palace of Nestor at Pylos , in the southern Peloponnese. The tablets, written in Mycenaean Greek (Linear B) , date to about 1450 BCE. In them we see that several popular deities of that time are to receive between 2-6 quarts of perfume each, however two particular deites are to receive far more... one referred to as "Matere Teija" (the Great Mother) is to receive fully 100 quarts, while the other, "Potnia Aswiya" is to receive 94 quarts.

By careful analysis, Sarah P.Morris, in her paper presented at the 8th International Aegean Conference, at Goteborg University (April 2000) investigates the identity of Potnia Aswiya. Her name translates as "mistress of Assuwa". Assuwa is the Hittite name for the area near the delta of the Cayster river, in Lydia , on the central west coast of Turkey. It's capitol city is none other than Ephesus , location of the great Temple of Artemis.

The Temple of Artemis
about 400 BCE

Ephesus in Lydia has been a sacred place of worship since late Neolithic times. The first known temple of significance was built in the early bronze age, circa 2500 BCE. It was originally dedicated to Cybele. In her book on the Amazons , Florence Bennett describes them as great patrons of the temple... indeed, they may even have been it's founders. The Amazons were devoted to Cybele, and were quite wealthy and powerful in 2500 BCE... in addition, the original temple contained many statues honoring the Amazons.

By about 1700 BCE, the Amazons came under heavy attack by a number of other kingdoms, and their society entered into a period of retreat and decline. Outnumbered, the last Amazons were killed at the battle of the Thermodon, in 1500 BCE.

The appearance of a warlike version of the Great Mother, in conjunction with the re-dedication of the temple of Ephesus to her, seems to correspond with the change in the fortunes of the Amazons, which occured around 1700 BCE. Therefore, we might speculate that a modified version of the Goddess was created for the Amazons, in their time of need, in order to assist them in their battles.

Of course there is no doubt that the new goddess was later called Artemis by the Greeks, but what she was originally called is somewhat of a mystery. Naturally, the older events are less well-recorded than things which happened in the classical period. As the worship of Artemis became widespread, different names were used in each locality, adding to the confusion.

A few things that we know for certain are that during the time the temple was dedicated to Cybele, She was served by a mix of female and transgender Priestesses, and this practice continued unchanged after the re-dedication. The images of Artemis bear strong resemblence to those of Cybele, and the essential beliefs and practices of the religion remained much the same. Obviously, after the Greeks adopted the goddess, she became westernized, and the religion was significantly altered, to fit into patriarchal Greek society and culture.

It appears then, that the goddess we know today as Artemis was derived from the Great Mother, at the temple of Ephesus in Lydia, about 1700 BCE, in order to assist the Amazons in battle. She was known throughout the Aegean as early as 1450 BCE, although she was most often referred to by titles such as Potnia Aswiya (mistress of Lydia) and Potnia Theron (mistress of animals). She was adopted into the Greek pantheon circa 1000 BCE under the name of Artemis, and was later worshipped by the Romans as Diana.

Hecate , much like Artemis, comes to us from the Greeks... the explanation for that is quite simple. Following the Trojan War the Greeks became the dominant power in the region, and while their records survived fairly well, those from earlier times were mostly lost in the war.

According to the Greeks, Hecate is a pre-Olympian goddess... a granddaughter of the Titan god Coeus. Her mother was an Amazon (Asteria) , and she is also a first cousin to Artemis and Apollo. In addition, she is classified as a chthonic deity. All of these factors tend to indicate that Hecate was of Near Eastern origin, and entered the Greek pantheon prior to the Trojan War, during the Mycenaean period.

The Theogony , a religious text written by the Greek author Hesiod around 800 BCE, tends to confirm the age of Hecate. In it, the author speaks of her as being very well established at that time, and portrays her as a benevolent Mother Goddess archetype.

Based on linguistic evidence, most historians seem to feel that Hecate comes originally from Caria , on the west coast of Turkey. If that is correct, it's quite interesting... since the temple of Ephesus is located just a few miles north of the Carian border. Could there be a connection between Cybele, Artemis and Hecate ?

It is well-known that the worship of Hecate was extremely popular in Caria. She had a major sanctuary located at Lagina , which was built before the Trojan War, and where she was often served by both female and transgender Priestesses, in much the same way as Artemis and Cybele... and as with Artemis, we find statues and carvings depicting Hecate and Cybele standing side by side. Indeed, their worship was so similar that many scholars see Hecate as simply another incarnation of the Great Mother.

Having little reliable archeological evidence, I can only offer the following theory...

Hecate has been found in Thrace since very early times. Thrace is located in a crossroads area, through which many ancient armies have marched... consequently, it has experienced almost constant warfare. Since Thrace was a close ally of Lydia and Caria, it seems possible that Hecate was created in either Ephesus or Lagina, in much the same way as Artemis... to honor an ally, and bring them strength in battle. Hecate's title, "guardian of the crossroads", seems quite logical in that light.

During the classical era, Hecate evolved into a darker deity. Although her original sacrifice animal was the dog (Thracians ate dog), they began to make human sacrifices, usually of captured enemy soldiers. In addition, attemps to invoke the goddess to harm their enemies created a reputation for sorcery and black magic among her followers... and this later caused Hecate to be associated with witchcraft in medieval Europe.