Eleusinian Mysteries

Hekate Angelos – Messenger, Liminal Mediator

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Remains of a statue of Hekate excavated from the site of the Temple of Demeter Malophoros in Selinunte, Sicily dated to approx 4th century BCE

“Angelos” is a title / epithet meaning “messenger”, or “angel”. The concepts of divine angels are mostly known due to being referenced throughout numerous Abrahamic bible passages and psalms, and within those biblical texts angels were sent from God to either deliver messages, or to act as an intermediary with assisting one or more persons.

One of Hekate’s known epithets is “Angelos”, an ancient title shared with Artemis. In Siracusa/Syracuse, a major ancient Greek colony on the southeast coast of Sicily, stood a temple dedicated to Artemis and Apollo that was center of cult worship for Artemis Angelos. In Greek mythology, Angelos was the daughter of Zeus and Hera who eventually became a chthonic goddess. Writer Sophron explains:

“Angelos was raised by nymphs to whose care her father had entrusted her. One day she stole her mother Hera’s anointments and gave them away to Europe. To escape Hera’s wrath, she had to hide first in the house of a woman in labor, and next among people who were carrying a dead man. Hera eventually ceased from prosecuting her, and Zeus ordered the Cabeiroi to cleanse Angelos. They performed the purification rite in the waters of the Acherusia Lake in the Underworld. Consequently, she received the world of the dead as her realm of influence, and was assigned an epithet katachthonia (“she of the underworld”)

Hekate as “Angelos”

Hekate’s own role as “Angelos” can be found in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which details the abduction of Persephone by Hades and Persephone’s return to Earth. First, we learn about Hekate bearing a message to Demeter after Persephone was abducted, which results in Hekate and Demeter visiting Helios to negotiate a search for Persephone. Later in the hymn, we learn of Hekate being assigned the role of guiding Persephone on her trips between the realms of the Earth and Underworld. Hekate is known as a liminal goddess, traversing the boundaries between realms and the title “Angelos” as messenger / mediator fits within Hekate’s role as “Propylaia” (guardian of thresholds) and “Propolos” (companion and guide).

The Flower of Fire

In the Chaldean Oracles, Hekate is described as the “Cosmic World Soul” that acts as an intermediary or messenger / transmitter between the “paternal intellect” (ideas), and the power in Hekate’s “cosmic womb” that in turn enlivened those ideas and transmitted them, thus ensouling the material / physical world. This concept is discussed in great detail in the book (her published dissertation) “Hekate Soteira” by scholar Sarah Iles Johnston and I highly recommend reading it (if you haven’t already).

Fragment 34 of the Chaldaean Oracles states:

“From here springs forth the genesis of varied matter;

From here the sweeping lightning obscures its flower of fire

As it leaps into the hollows of the Cosmoi; for from here all things

Begin to stretch forth towards that place beneath the wondrous rays.”

The Sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros

Selinunte in Sicily was a major Greek colony and is the location of the great Sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros. The title “Malophoros” means “fruit bearer”, and in this temple the Eleusinian Rites were re-enacted. Various votive remains have been excavated from this site depicting Hekate, Demeter, and Persephone, and the temple area has been turned into a protected archaeological park that also contains temples to other gods, including Hera and Athena. Many of the sanctuary remains are housed in a museum in Palermo, Sicily.

One excavated archaeological artifact is the base of a statue with a votive inscription to Hekate engraved on it:

A statue base with a votive inscription dedicated to Hekate, on display at Antonino Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum, Palermo, Sicily. Dated approx 450 BCE

The inscription on the statue base pictured above reads:

“Alexias son of Xenon made [this] dedication
to the Angelos (Messenger) and to Hekate”

This statue base is dated to about 450 BCE and is on display at Antonino Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum in Palermo, Sicily. This statue base is believed to have been a part of the Propylon of Hekate at the Sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros. Propylons are “gateways” to temples, and are linked to Hekate’s role as “Propylaia” – “Guardian of Thresholds / Entryways”.

Angelike Orchēsis

The Angelike Orchēsis were celebratory dances performed by the ancient Greeks as part of important rituals, and Angelike Orchēsis translates to “messenger’s dance”. Many dancing rituals took place during the Eleusinian rites and they all had a different purpose. The Angelike Orchēsis, according to Greek writer Athenaeus of Naucratis (who lived sometime during the 2nd-3rd century CE), were Ionic dances that told the story of Hekate delivering a message to Demeter regarding the abduction of her daughter, Persephone.

Votive relief found at Eleusis depicting a dance scene, dated to about 4th c. BCE / National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Hesiod’s “Theogony”

The references to Hekate in Hesiod’s “Theogony” (written around 700 BCE) are believed to be the oldest literary source for Her. In addition to describing Hekate’s origins and honors given to Her by Zeus, Hesiod describes how Hekate mediates prayer and decides if the prayers should be answered favorably:

“For to this day, whenever any one of men on earth offers rich sacrifices and prays for favour according to custom, he calls upon Hecate. Great honour comes full easily to him whose prayers the goddess receives favourably, and she bestows wealth upon him; for the power surely is with her.”

Hesiod then goes on to describe how Hekate also mediates and bestows Her will over participants in games, horsemen, and fishermen:

“Good is she also when men contend at the games, for there too the goddess is with them and profits them: and he who by might and strength gets the victory wins the rich prize easily with joy, and brings glory to his parents. And she is good to stand by horsemen, whom she will: and to those whose business is in the grey discomfortable sea, and who pray to Hecate and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker, easily the glorious goddess gives great catch, and easily she takes it away as soon as seen, if so she will.”

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Demeter and the Madonna Addolorata

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Exploring the Misteri di Trapani and Demeter’s Search for Persephone

Trapani (sometimes referred to as “Drepana”) is a city on the northwest tip of Sicily, and was founded by the Elymians approximately 3rd century BCE. There are a few legends as to the founding of Trapani (near Eryx / Erice), and one of them involves Demeter’s search for Persephone after her abduction by Hades. According to the legend, Demeter dropped her sickle while searching for Persephone, which would explain why the coastal land resembles the curved blade of a sickle.

Sicily was once known as Magna Graecia, and the echoes of that past are evident just about everywhere you go on that magical island. Even though Catholicism became the dominant religion in Italy, the “old ways” were kept by rural peasants especially in Sicily, and were disguised as Catholic to keep up appearances. One such practice is the veneration of the Black Madonna. The Catholic Church has a simplistic explanation for Black Madonnas – mostly that the statues / icons of the Virgin Mary “aged” over the years, darkening the coloring of the icon. But those who know, know that the Black Madonna is the divine feminine – a concept carried over from the old ways. We know Her by many names: Dark Mother, Demeter, Melaina, etc. The Catholic Virgin and Child is said by many to actually represent Demeter and Persephone, especially in Sicily where the Eleusinian Mysteries were carried out long ago in places like Selinunte and Locri. The story of Demeter and Persephone – from Persephone’s abduction to Demeter’s search for her – has been kept alive in Sicily in various ways, and one can find echoes of that in the annual Easter procession in Trapani.

Misteri

The Procession of the Mysteries in Trapani started over 400 years ago and people come from far and wide to witness this event every year. Near the end of Holy Week, on Good Friday (as of this writing in 2022 that day falls on April 15th), the procession begins with many floats depicting the passion and death of Christ. Each statue represents each station of the cross along the Via Dolorosa (“sorrowful road”), and the statues are usually crafted by local artisan guilds. In Trapani, there are two processions for the Holy Mother: an official church procession for the “white” Madonna Addolorata (“sorrowful mother”); and a second procession of the Black Madonna – the divine feminine. 

Many women of Sicily, to the dismay of the Catholic church, have always venerated the Black Madonna, sometimes in secret. To these women, the Black Madonna represents the divine feminine presence in all women and creation; the powerful Earth Mother whose blackness represents the dark, fecund earth and fertility. Simply, the Black Madonna is the protectress of the poor and marginalized people of society, and is called upon for social justice and righting wrongs. She is also the Dark Mother; the powerful force of life, death, and rebirth.

With the traditional Good Friday procession that includes the Madonna Addolorata, the statues of the son and mother separate at the beginning before the son begins the way of the cross that leads to his death. This is a solemn procession, with the mother cloaked in her dark mantle desperately searching for her beloved son. This scene transcends religions and cultures and is such a powerful display that evokes ancient, ancestral memories. During these mysteries, the statue of the Madonna is joined by a statue of John the evangelist (a saint, believed by some to be one of the Apostles), and they are carried all over town in search of the son. The Holy Week mysteries come to a conclusion on Easter Sunday, when the son is resurrected/reborn and reunited with his mother.

Madonna Addolorata, photo by Processione dei Misteri di Trapani

Eleusinia

Trapani is not that far from Enna, where according to Sicilian lore Persephone was abducted by Hades on the shores of Lake Pergusa while she was picking flowers with her maidens. The story of Persephone’s abduction and Demeter’s search for her is told in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Hekate assisted Demeter in her search for Persephone, with her torches illuminating the way. During this time, Demeter caused all crops to wither and trees and flowers went dormant while Persephone was in the underworld with Hades. Eventually, Demeter and Persephone were reunited after Zeus intervened and tasked Hermes the Messenger to mediate between Demeter and Hades to make arrangements for Persephone’s return. Hades tricked Persephone into eating pomegranate seeds, forever binding her to the underworld. Hekate then became Persephone’s torch-bearing guide on her travels between the realms in the spring and autumn. The Eleusinian Mysteries celebrated the mysteries of life, death, and rebirth.

Eleusinian relief, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo © Melissa McNair, personal collection
Terracotta bell-krater attributed to “Persephone Painter”, 440 BCE. Hekate and Hermes, assisting in returning Persephone from the underworld. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo © Melissa McNair, personal collection

Κυανοπεπλος / Kyanopeplos

The Madonna’s search for her beloved son is similar to Demeter’s search for Persephone. Both mother figures are experiencing pain and a deep, aching dread. Their searches are wrought with sorrow, frustration, and grief. One may say, when witnessing the procession of the Madonna Addolorata cloaked in her dark mantle, that she held a quiet rage within her. Rage for being separated from her child, and rage for wanting justice.

Demeter’s grief over losing Persephone eventually turned to rage, when she caused all crops, plants, flowers, and trees to wither and die while she was searching for her daughter. She decreed the lands to be eternally barren while separated from her beloved Persephone. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, she is described as being veiled (“Kyanopeplos”), not unlike the Madonna, during her search for Persephone:

“Bitter pain seized her heart, and she rent the covering upon her divine hair with her dear hands: her dark cloak she cast down from both her shoulders and sped, like a wild-bird, over the firm land and yielding sea, seeking her child.”

“[Demeter mourning Persephone] walked behind . . . with her head veiled and wearing a dark cloak which waved about the slender feet of the goddess . . . “

Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter

The ancient Greeks associated this myth with the changing of the seasons from summer to dormant autumn with her abduction, and Persephone’s return to the world of the living with the return of spring. To this day, many Sicilians living on country farms make offerings to Demeter for bountiful harvests and express their gratitude for their prosperity and abundance during the growing seasons.

I hope you enjoyed this short blog post about the magical Misteri, and that it has perhaps inspired you to delve into the mysteries of the Black Madonna and her connections to Demeter and Hekate. Sicily is forever in my heart, my soul, and in my bones. It is my ancestral land; the history, the lore, the ancient memories are etched within me. I have been a devotee of Hekate for many years, and Demeter and Persephone are close to my heart as well.

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The Return of Spring and Persephone

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“The Return of Persephone”, Attic vase dated circa 440 BCE

Spring is traditionally a time of rebirth and renewal. The Earth is awakening from her winter slumber, and life is beginning to stir in both flora and fauna. The return of Spring also brings the return of Persephone from the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Rites of Eleusis were initiatory mysteries taking place in the autumn and spring, marking the descent of Persephone into the realm of the dead with her consort Hades (autumn), and Persephone’s return to the mortal world above to be reunited with her mother Demeter (spring). (see related blog post regarding Enna in Sicily).

Hekate had an integral role in these mysteries, acting as Persephone’s companion and guide during both her descent and return. Much isn’t known about the Eleusinian Mysteries, but scholars agree that it centered on the concept of life, death, and rebirth. The Eleusinian Mysteries were tied to the agricultural season of the Mediterranean region, and the mysteries were used to help explain the seasonal changes of growth and life, death and decay, and regeneration of that which died.

Hekate is a liminal goddess that straddles the realms of these forces with ease. Demeter represents life, Persephone represents death and rebirth, and Hekate as Creatrix weaves these energies together. All three goddesses were honored during these rites.

The image above is from a vase dated back to 440 BCE. It shows Persephone, on the left, returning from the realm of Hades. Hermes is standing next to Persephone, and Demeter is on the far right holding a scepter. Hekate is in the center, bearing two torches while guiding Persephone’s return.

🗝

© Melissa McNair / The Torch and Key

Image source: Theoi, https://www.theoi.com/Gallery/T16.6.html

Hekate in Magna Graecia: Enna

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Enna

Enna is located in central Sicily, and according to Diodorus Siculus, is the famed mythical location for Persephone’s abduction, which was said to have happened near Lake Pergusa. Enna was one of the most prominent locations in Sicily for Demeter and Persephone’s cult. Near Lake Pergusa is an archaeological site known as Cozzo Matrice, where one will find the remains of a fortified village believed to be dated to about 8000 BCE. Other archaeological remains date back to a little over 2000 years old, and they include a citadel, remains of a necropolis, and remains of a temple to Demeter. Today, the area of Lake Pergusa is home to a park called “Proserpina Park”, named after Persephone (Proserpina or Proserpine is how Persephone was referred to by the Romans). Nearby, the Rocca (or Rocco) di Cerere Geopark is now known as the land that was once consecrated to the chthonian deities of the Eleusinian mysteries, and their power and presence is very much felt to this day.

The story of Persephone’s abduction and Demeter’s subsequent search is recounted in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, in which Hekate plays a very prominent role. It is also lays the foundation for the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Persephone was picking flowers, when Hades emerged from a nearby cave and stole her away to his realm in the underworld. Hekate and the sun god Helios witnessed this abduction, though Hekate did not see it happen; She only heard Persephone’s cries for help. Demeter wandered all over the earth for Persephone for nine days, and on the tenth day Hekate appeared before Demeter to tell her what She had witnessed, as told in this passage from the Homeric Hymn to Demeter:

“But when the tenth enlightening dawn had come, Hecate, with a torch in her hands, met her, and spoke to her and told her news: “Queenly Demeter, bringer of seasons and giver of good gifts, what god of heaven or what mortal man has rapt away Persephone and pierced with sorrow your dear heart? For I heard her voice, yet saw not with my eyes who it was. But I tell you truly and shortly all I know.”

Together, Demeter and Hekate went to Helios to ask for his help in finding Persephone. Helios told Demeter where her daughter was taken, but also tried to tell her that she should remain where she was. Demeter did not want to accept that, and continued to wander until she ended up at Eleusis, where she decreed that a temple be built in her honor. During this time when Demeter was in despair, the earth and it’s fruits wasted away. Zeus took notice of the suffering of the earth and it’s inhabitants, and arranged for Hermes to mediate between Hades and Demeter for Persephone’s return. Hades agreed, but, tricked Persephone into eating some pomegranate seeds, which then forever bound her to the underworld for part of the year. Persephone and Demeter were reunited, and Hekate joined them in their reunion. From that moment on, Hekate became Persephone’s torch-bearing guide to and from the underworld twice a year. One of Hekate’s epithets is “Propolos”, which means “guide”.  From the Homeric Hymn to Demeter:

“Then bright-coiffed Hecate came near to them, and often did she embrace the daughter of holy Demeter: and from that time the lady Hecate was minister and companion to Persephone.”

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Rocca di Cereri – Enna – from Wikimedia

 

I hope you enjoyed this essay on Hekate in  Magna Graecia: Enna.

© Melissa McNair / The Torch and Key

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