Velchanos
Velchanos | |
---|---|
Tree | Oak |
Festivals | Velchania |
Parents | Mother Goddess |
Consort | Mother Goddess |
Equivalents | |
Greek equivalent | Zeus Adonis |
Roman equivalent | Jupiter |
Mesopotamian equivalent | Tammuz |
Velchanos is an ancient Minoan god associated with vegetation whose cult influenced that of Zeus.
Origins
According to Arthur Evans, a tree cult played one of the most important aspects of the Minoan religion in ancient Crete. In this cult, two deities were worshipped; one male and one female.[1] In this tree cult, while the Mother Goddess was viewed as a personification of tree-vegetation, the male god formed a "concrete image of the vegetation itself in the shape of a divine child or a youth", with the two forming a mother and child relationship.[2] Given the role of the hieros gamos between the two, it has been theorized that Velchanos was partially based on the Mesopotamian Dumuzid.[3]
Worship
Mycenaean period
The Minoans viewed Velchanos as less powerful that the goddess.[4]
At some point, the Mycenaean civilization came in contact with the Minoans, who identified their own god Zeus with the Cretan god.[5][6] This religious syncretism led to Zeus obtaining some of Velchanos' traits, with his mythology also being affected; henceforth, Zeus was stated to have been born in Crete and was often represented as a beardless youth. He was also venerated as Zeus Velchanos.[5]
Hellenistic period
In the 4th century BC, during the beginning of the Hellenistic era, Hagia Triada fell under the control of the polis of Phaistos and was reinstated as a place of worship.[7][8] In this period, an aedicula was installed over a Minoan stoa in honor of Zeus Velchanos. In the same location, a bull protome was also found, built around the 2nd century BC, which is attributed to the shrine of Velchanos.[9] Velchanos appears to have been worshipped in Gortyna as well, as coins depicting him have been found.[10]
Velchanus' main festival, the Velchania, was likely celebrated in the Cretan polis Gortyna, Lyttos,[11] and Knossos.[12]
Iconography
Symbols
Coins from Phaistos depicted Zeus Velchanos with a cock in his lap.[13] These coins also depicted him with an oak tree.[14] He was also depicted with a bull.[15] At other times, Velchanos was depicted as an eagle.[16]
Influences on other cultures
Given the similarities in naming, it has been suggested that Velchanos was an influence on Vulcan from Roman mythology.[17]
References
- ^ Al 1944, pp. 215.
- ^ Al 1944, pp. 216–217.
- ^ Dietrich 1974, pp. 11.
- ^ Castleden 1990, p. 29.
- ^ a b Al 1944, p. 219.
- ^ Kouremenos 2018, pp. 55.
- ^ D'Agata 1995, pp. 24.
- ^ Sanders 1976, pp. 133.
- ^ D'Agata 1995, pp. 25.
- ^ Kouremenos 2016, pp. 47.
- ^ Hadzisteliou Price 1978, pp. 84.
- ^ Dietrich 1974, pp. 16.
- ^ El-Khashab 1984, pp. 215.
- ^ Cook 1908, pp. 413.
- ^ Dietrich 1967, pp. 408.
- ^ Dietrich 1974, pp. 15.
- ^ Rose 1934, pp. 42.
Bibliography
- Al, B. (1944). "Cretan Religion in Relation to Greek Religion". Mnemosyne. 12 (3). Brill Publishers: 208–222.
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(help) - Castleden, Rodney (1990). "The people: Social structure". Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415088336.
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(help) - Cook, Arthur Bernard (1903). "Zeus, Jupiter and the Oak". The Classical Review. 17 (8). Cambridge University Press: 403–421.
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(help) - D'Agata, Anna Lucia (1995). "Changing Patterns in a Minoan and Post-Minoan Sanctuary: the Case of Agia Triada". British School at Athens Studies. 2. British School at Athens: 19–26.
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(help) - Dietrich, Bernard Clive (1974). The Origins of Greek Religion. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3110039825.
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(help) - Dietrich, Bernard Clive (1967). "Some Light from the East on Cretan Cult Practice". Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte. 6 (4): 385–413.
{{cite journal}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - El-Khashab, Abd El-Mohse (1984). "The Cocks, the Cat, and the Chariot of the Sun". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 55: 215–222.
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(help) - Kouremenos, Anna (2016). "The double axe (λάβρυς) in Roman Crete and beyond: the iconography of a multi-faceted symbol". In Francis, Jane E.; Kouremenos, Anna (eds.). Roman Crete: New Perspectives. Oxbow Books. pp. 43–57. ISBN 978-1785700958.
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(help) - Kouremenos, Anna (2018). "In the Heart of the Wine-Dark Sea: Insularity and Identity in the Roman Period". Insularity and identity in the Roman Mediterranean. Oxbow Books. pp. 41–64. ISBN 978-1785705809.
{{cite book}}
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(help) - Hadzisteliou Price, Theodora (1978). Kourotrophos: Cults and Representations of the Greek Nursing Deities. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-9004052512.
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(help) - Rose, H. J. (1934). "Altheim: Revolutionary or Reactionary?". The Harvard Theological Review. 27 (1). Cambridge University Press: 33–51.
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: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Sanders, I. F. (1976). "Settlement in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods on the Plain of the Mesara, Crete". The Annual of the British School at Athens. 71. British School at Athens: 131–137.
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(help)