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Eostre
She is the Germanic Goddess of Spring. She is attested solely by Bede in his 8th-century work The Reckoning of Time, where he states that during Ēosturmōnaþ (the equivalent of April), pagan Anglo-Saxons had held feasts in Ēostre’s honor called Eosturmonath. However, Bede is our only source for the historical Eostre. There are no other mentions of the goddess prior to that. There are theories that Eostre is derived from the same Indo European goddess of the dawn like that of the Greek Goddess Eos. Another theory is Eostre is a local goddess worshiped in Southeastern England. The latest theory by Philip Shaw is that she is linked to a…
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Greek Goddess Eileithyia
She was the goddess of childbirth and labor pains. Her name means “she who comes to aid” or “relieve” from the Greek word elêluthyia. Her Roman counterpart was Lucina (“Light bringer”) or Natio (“Birth”). She was depicted as a woman wielding a torch, representing the burning pains of childbirth, or with her arms raised in the air to bring the child to the light. Hesiod in the Theogony states she is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She was born in a cave near Knossos, Crete, and this became her main place of worship. She was also worshiped in Olympia, which is attested by the discovery of a shrine attributed…
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Tiresias
It seems like every Greek myth has a seer that must peer into the darkness of the future or the underworld or something to put the hero on his path to destiny. The go-to seer for many myths was Tiresias. It seemed like he was so good at his job, they couldn’t even let him alone when he was dead. Someone was always going into the underworld to bring him up for a prophecy of some kind. Tiresias was born to the nymph Chariclo and a shepherd, Everes. Chariclo was a favorite of Athena, and in one myth Tiresias got his power of prophecy from Athena. He was said to…
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Zwarte Piet- Tradition or Racism?
In many countries around the world, Santa Claus has helpers. We have discussed Krampus (http://www.historynaked.com/krampus/) in a previous post. However, in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Aruba and Curaçao, SinterKlaas or St. Nicholas has a different helper- Zwarte Piet or Black Pete. Zwarte Piet is depicted as a “blackamoor” from Spain dressed in a colorful Renaissance costume of pantaloons, feathered cap and ruffled shirt, curly hair, bright red lipstick and gold earrings. He travels with SinterKlaas when he arrives by boat from Spain in November and is welcomed with a parade. SinterKlaas rides through town on a white horse while Zwarte Piet distributes treats of pepernoten, kruidnoten, and strooigoed to…
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Krampus
“You better watch out, You better not cry, You better not pout, I’m telling you why: He’s making a list, And checking it twice, Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice. He sees you when you’re sleeping, He knows when you’re awake. He knows when you’ve been bad or good, So be good for goodness sake!” Krampus does not come to reward, but to punish. The word “Krampus” is derived from the Old High German word krampen, meaning “claw.” According to Norse mythology, Krampus is the son of Hel, the goddess ruler of the underworld. There are also a few physical similarities between Krampus and Greek mythical creatures like the…
