 |
 |
|
The Process of Gods : A Study of the Goddess Hekate
Part 4 In spite of the difficulties we face when attempting to construct an image of Hekate from the Classical sources we do have and the fact that there is a long stretch between the modernist philosophical and psychological reduction of the concept of a ‘god’ and the worshippers and initiates of the mysteries in Antiquity, there is a considerably rich representation, in concept if not in quantity, of Hekate to be found in what has come down to us from that period. Keeping in mind the status of Hekate had, by this point, been reduced (in the popular imagination at least) to a rather dark, cthonian Goddess who was the patron of witches and necromancers, there is no doubt that there is much to learned from these sources, which I now turn to. Hekate in the Classical Greek and Roman world – Literary Remains The pagan religions of the Classical world do not, of course, have anything comparable to the concept of theology as practiced by many of the World religions of the modern era. The gods were experienced directly, and heard through their myths which were enacted and ritualized in festival and the later Mystery cults. As mentioned, there is very little conclusivly known about the rituals and mysteries of Hekate, which leaves mainly literary sources such as have survived the Dark Ages that enveloped the Hellenized world when Rome collapsed. How much weight to lend the various works we possess is a difficult question. Undoubtably there is a mixture of fact, legend and artistic license in all of them, but since the pagan gods were not revealed, this is true of all of their forms and as we have seen, the gods are shaped to fulfill the needs of their worshippers as much or more than the worshippers are shaped by the gods. The fragments that follow are a selection of quotes from many diverse sources. There is a large amount of collected material, often published as “source books” that shall not be covered here and the reader is encouraged to explore them. These fragments are mainly drawn from narratives and give not only a description or quotation of a gods function or form, but also examples of the practices associate with these functions. As such, I shall briefly comment on each passage as appropriate but the reader is encouraged to draw his or her own conclusions as to the validity of the text.
|
 |