Selinunte

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.”

© Melissa M. / The Torch and Key

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The Sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros, Selinunte (Part I)

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The ancient Greek community of Selinunte was founded as a sub-colony of Megara Iblea in 651-650 BCE. One of the first sacred sites in the western Sicilian city, which is considered one of the world’s largest archaeological zones, is the Santuario della Malophoros or the Sanctuary of the Fruit Bearer. “Malophoros” implies pomegranates or apples, […]

The Sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros, Selinunte (Part I)

Hekate in Magna Graecia: Selinunte

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Selinunte

Selinunte (also known as Selinus or Selinous) was a major settlement on the southwest coast of Sicily, and was believed to have been settled in the mid-6th century BCE, though the exact date remains unknown. The acropolis of Selinunte was situated between two rivers, and a major sanctuary dedicated to Demeter Malophoros was located there. This sanctuary contained several buildings within it, the largest one being Demeter’s temple. “Malophoros” (or Malophorus) is an epithet meaning “fruit-bearer”, which correlates to Demeter’s role as goddess of fertility and agriculture. The lands surrounding Selinunte were very rich and fertile, perfect for farming. Some interpret the epithet “Malophoros” as meaning either “apple bearer” or “pomegranate bearer”. “Pomegranate bearer” makes sense to me personally, considering the pomegranate fruit featured prominently in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which tells the story of the Rites at Eleusis. Persephone, Demeter’s daughter, ate seeds of the pomegranate fruit, which forever bound her to the Underworld.

Votive remains depicting Hekate, Demeter, and Persephone together have been found within these sanctuary remains, which is not surprising considering these three goddesses are the focus of the Eleusinian Mysteries, with Persephone’s abduction said to have taken place in Sicily according to various Sicilian cult beliefs. The worship of Hekate, Demeter, and Persephone together in Sicily is a result of Greek migration to this area, and a continuation of religious and ritual practice dating back centuries before.

The temple sanctuary featured a very large altar, stone temenos walls, and a “propylaia”, and this temple is the only one in Sicily that was constructed in such a manner and is believed to pre-date the temple style that features the tall Doric columns. One of Hekate’s many epithets is “Propylaia”, a Greek term which translates to “before the gate”. Hekate is widely known as a liminal Goddess, guarding crossroads, entryways/doorways, and other areas with a defined border, such as where grass meets forest or where sand meets the sea. The enclosed propylon had to be entered from the East, and was dedicated to Hekate, based on engraved votives found in the vicinity.

Sadly, this city was destroyed by the Carthaginians around 400 BCE and was eventually resettled, with the temples being reused. Approximately 12,000 remains of female votive figurines and defixiones (curse tablets) were also recovered in excavations of this site.  These defixiones, often referred to as the “Getty Hexameters”, specifically mention Hekate by name (as well as identifying Her as Enodia), along with Persephone and Demeter. An excerpt of the words on these defixiones describes Hekate as shouting in a terrifying voice, bearing torches:

“…down from the shadowy mountains in a dark gleaming land a child brings from Persephone’s garden for milking, by necessity, the four-footed holy servant of Demeter, a nanny laden with an unceasing flow of rich milk, and she follows, trusting in the bright goddesses…torches, and Hecate Enodia, shouting a foreign-sounding shout in a terrifying voice…”

This temple appears to have been a major worship area for Selinunte, even eclipsing the Temples of Hera and Zeus, also in the same area. Archaeological evidence also suggests that Demeter’s temple was a hub of sorts for funerary rites, which fits with Hekate’s role as Psychopomp (guide of souls) and the reincarnation theme of the Eleusinian Mysteries, with Hekate, Demeter, and Persephone at the center of them.

Many of the archaeological finds from Selinunte are currently housed in the museum in Palermo, Sicily.

Selinunte-demeter-malaphoros

Propylon of Hekate at Temple of Demeter Malophoros – image source: Wikimedia commons

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Relief of Demeter, Persephone, & Hekate – Selinunte – Palermo Archaeological Museum

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

© Melissa McNair / The Torch and Key

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