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Post by nellie on Feb 25, 2011 14:17:14 GMT -1
I think I'm going to sound stupid now... here goes anyway.
In relation to the possible P.I.E goddess Hekwona, is there any possibility that Hekate could have derived from this goddess?
Hekate feels a bit like Rhiannon does to me and it's something I've been thinking about off and on for almost a year now. Any thoughts on the absurdness of this?
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Post by Lee on Feb 25, 2011 15:01:49 GMT -1
i would suggest it is a coincidence of language. Hekwona is the reconstructed horse goddess associated with sovereignty and the like, there arent any associations of this sort with hekate. Underworld association you see with Rhiannon are probably later rather than original and relate more to do with being 'other'.
Wiki (i know!) has the etymology as:
Notable proposed etymologies for the name Hecate are:
From the Greek word for 'will'.
From Greek Ἑκάτη [Hekátē], feminine equivalent of Εκατός Hekatos, obscure epithet of Apollo.This has been translated as "her that operates from afar", "her that removes or drives off",[10] "the far reaching one" or "the far-darter".
From the Egyptian goddess of childbirth, Heqet.
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Post by Lee on Feb 25, 2011 15:04:27 GMT -1
just another thing.... it is possible she is ultimately derived from the Greek goodess Kybele (share a lot of similar attributes) who is a mother earth goddess... i wonder if she derived from a landscape goddess who had association with sov. ? maybe they are connected  something to look into! avaloniapress.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/hekate-historical-origins/ |
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Post by nellie on Feb 25, 2011 15:24:25 GMT -1
I keep meaning to read 'Her Sacred Fires' The 'divine queen' reference there is interesting, thanks for the link. About a year-ish ago I was digging a fair bit into Hekate. The mother-goddess does seem to be where Her worship started out but I can't remember even half of the places I was reading info now. Hekate is known to have strong connections with dogs (something I can attest to myself) and there is that link to dogs that's been discussed about Rhiannon. Hekate was also sometimes shown with a horses head too from what I've read (though I don't have that built in bullshit detector - so everything I report has to be taken as suspect!  ) along with a few other different animals. Am I seeing things that aren't there?! |
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Post by deiniol on Feb 25, 2011 15:43:14 GMT -1
Linguistically speaking, Lee's right. There's no connection: PIE *ḱw becomes p in Greek: a Greek reflex of *h1eḱwonā would be something like **Hipponē.
Functionally, though, that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Theonyms are changed and replaced all the time: Vedic Indra is clearly a reflex of PIE *Perkunos, but the two names are wholly unrelated. I'm not overly familiar with the mythology of Hekate, but from what little I do know (and from what you've said- I defer to your wider reading here), the connection does seem persuasive.
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Post by Lee on Feb 25, 2011 16:20:25 GMT -1
'Her Sacred Fires' is supposed to quite good, however i would recommend more academic sources first as i understand HSF is about peoples personal experiences.
i do know that Sorita D'estes other greek work has come in for some harsh criticism in the past from Theoi lot. that said, i know sortia and she is ok-ish.
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) along with a few other different animals. Am I seeing things that aren't there?!