The God Notus in History and Mythology

For centuries, Greek mythology has been handed down from generation to generation; in the 8^th century BCE, the poet Homer produced the first written version of the legends surrounding the battle of Troy. These are known as the Iliad and the Odyssey. Within these epic poems, he tells not only the details of the battle itself, but the myths from the ancient world: meetings between the gods and mortals, challenges of heroes, magic, monsters and the creation of life and death.

In Greek mythology, many organic objects were seen to be of divine origin, usually in the form of either a personification or a minor deity (for example, a nymph). The Anemi, the Four Winds, were four deities (Zephyrus from the west, Boreas from the north, Notus from the south and Argestes from the east), who were known as ‘flint-hearted’.

Notus was the son of Astraeus, the Titan god of the stars and planets, and the goddess Eos, the personification of the dawn. He brought with him fog, rain and heat. Hesiod, in his Works and Days, stated that, “Do not wait till the time of the new wine and autumn rain and oncoming storms with the fierce gales of Notos (South Wind) who accompanies the heavy autumn rain of Zeus and stirs up the sea and makes the deep dangerous”.

In one myth, the Psylli decided to make war against Notus when winds from the desert had dried the water in the land (now Tripoli). As they marched into the desert, they were overcome by a simoon and perished to a single man.

In art, Notus was shown as a winged deity, usually pouring rain from a vase as he was believed to bring with him fog and rain wherever he went. In a relief on the column of Marcus Aurelius, the great winged creature showering rain upon the troops is doubtless intended for Notus, and not Jupiter Pluvius.

He seems to appear more frequently to that of his brothers and this might be due to the number of different weather characteristics that he is attributed to, especially by later Latin writers. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Notus is the wind employed by Jupiter to bring on the rain for the deluge.

Weather deities and myths are important elements in a culture’s mythology and identity; they are the reasons how and why their crops grew and so allowed the people to survive. However, like with many deities, they could not only be benevolent but could also turn violent and destructive, giving the residents the explanation for bad weather.

Bibliography:

Cotterell, Arthur & Storm, Rachel (1999) The Ultimate Encyclopaedia of Mythology, Hermes House, Anness Publishing House.

McCartney, Eugene S. (1930) Greek and Roman Weather Lore of Winds, the Classical Weekly, Classical Association of the Atlantic States.

Oceanus in Mythology and History

The myths of ancient Greece have provided the world with one of the richest sources of stories and legends in the world; they provided not only a recording of how they believed the world came to be, but provided a moral guide to live one’s life against as well as being a form of entertainment.

In Greek mythology the Olympian gods were widely worshipped, but they were not the first gods to come into existence. The first primal deities, the Protogenoi, gave birth to several deities who came to be known as the Titans. These Titans then fought in the war against the Olympians which saw, for most of them, their eventual imprisonment in the bowls of the earth.

One of these Titans was Oceanus, whose name can be translated as ‘River Ocean’. There are two versions of his parentage; Hesiod states that Gaia and Ouranos were his parents but the later Roman author, Hyginus, states that they were Aither (also spelt Aether) and Gaia.

Oceanus was believed to have been the great river that encircled his mother, the earth. He, like many of the gods in Greek mythology, married his sister Tethys, and together they produced many children. These included the elegant Oceanids, nymphs of the sea and the many river-gods of the earth (called the Potoami). Like Zeus and Poseidon, he had many affairs which resulted in the birth of the Aurae (nymphs of the breezes), the monkey-thieves Cercopes by the goddess Theia as well as the semi-divine Triptolemos by Gaia. In addition to this, he also raised Hera, the future queen of the gods, from birth until her marriage to Zeus.

Oceanus and Tethys were, as stated earlier, an incestuous couple, a theme which reoccurs in Greek mythology. Due to this, their relationship was used by the Roman poet Catullus. In one of his poems, Gellius is accused of incest with his mother, sister, and aunt and not even Oceanus and Tethys can wash away his crimes. This notion that large bodies of water are unable to wash away the stain of crime is of course a ‘topos’ going back to Greek tragedy but the “individual naming of the two sea-deities seems to make a point-a literary point which is relevant to the invective of the poem. Not even the mythologically incestuous couple Oceanus and Tethys can wash out Gellius' incest, though they are guilty of the offence themselves and might be thought likely to connive at it”.

Although the children that the Titans gave birth to were more influential in Greek and Roman society than that of their parents, the Titans’ myths still had a great significance on ancient society. Their tales were usually seen as explanations of the nature of the world or the origins of the dominant gods. In spite of this, the Titans are interesting characters of ancient Greek mythology.

Bibliography:

Harrison, S. J. (1996) Mythological Incest: Catullus 88, The Classical Quarterly, Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Classical Association.

The History and Significance of the Egyptian God Geb

Egyptian mythology has fascinated the world for centuries; one of the oldest civilizations in the world, Egyptian mythology reflects the way the ancient people of this society viewed their world. They both feared and worshipped their gods in order to guarantee the annual flooding of the Nile which allowed them to stay alive in this harsh climate. The gods of ancient Egypt reflected the society of the Egyptians and we can see this in the significance and history of their deities.

The ancient Egyptian god Geb was one of the most important deities in the Egyptian pantheon. The god of the earth, Geb was both the brother and consort of Nut, as well as the oldest son of Shu and Tefnut, the deities of air and moisture.

One of his famous myths recounts the legend of how the earth and sky were formed. Geb and Nut were locked in a passionate embrace and Shu, or in other versions, the sun god Ra, separated them so violently that Geb formed the earth and Nut the sky. The distance between them gave enough space for Nut to give birth to their children. According to legends, Geb continued to grieve for Nut and his grief caused earthquakes (Cotterell & Storm, p.281).

Geb also played a leading role among the gods. In the Pyramid Texts (a collection of Egyptian texts concerning funerary rites), he is described as the spokesman of the gods against Set (Brandon, p.117).

The Egyptians viewed astronomy as an important part of life and in this Geb also plays a vital role. The 160 day visible rising phase of the decan stars was called Geb, or evening/night (rising) and the 200 day withdrawing phase was called Nut, or day (rising). This Nut rising period was when the stars withdrew, and could reflect the explanation that the goddess swallowed her star children, although this theory has been amended (Conman, p.64). Geb becomes a prince of the decan stars because he “commands them to rise. He causes the stars to return to life after they have been swallowed. He is responsible for the heliacal risings of the decans. Considered an earth god, Geb has a distinctly non-chthonic side that includes an existence in the sky” (Conman, p.64).

Geb plays an important role in the history of both ancient Egyptian mythology and history. Through the study of this deity, we can gain new insight into the fascinating history of this ancient culture.

Bibliography:

Brandon, S. G. F. (1958) A Problem of the Osirian Judgement of the Dead, Numen, BRILL.

Conman, Joanne (2003) It’s About Time: Ancient Egyptian Cosmology, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur, Helmut Buske Verlag GmbH.

Cotterell, Arthur & Storm, Rachel (1999) The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology, Hermes House, Anness Publishing House.

The Archaeology and Significance of the Goddess Sulis-Minerva

The archaeology of the Roman baths at Bath in Somerset provides us with much information about the cult of the goddess Sulis-Minerva. From this, we can understand more about the religious diversity within the Roman Empire at the time of its occupation in Britain. It is my aim to discuss the significance of the archaeological remains surrounding the goddess-Minerva.

First, let us define who we mean. Sulis-Minerva is the hybrid of the Roman goddess of healing, Minerva, and the native Celtic goddess Sul. The word ‘sul’ is usually translated as “gap”, “opening” or “orifice” which is the “interface between this world and the otherworld, from whence the extraordinary hot waters emerge” (Bowman, p.25).

The Roman baths at Bath is one of the most well-known religious sites in Britain. With most religious sites, animal sacrifice is most common with dedications to deities. However, excavations at Bath have yielded little faunal evidence, so it could be argued that animal sacrifice was not practised or that the animal remains were deposited outside the temple and baths areas (King, p.361). Through the archaeological information, it is most probable that the first theory is the most accurate one, since the site was dedicated to healing (King, p.361), so it is unlikely that animals, that were sometimes diseased, would be introduced where they could possible infect humans.

Different offerings were dedicated to the goddess. Coins were thrown into the sacred spring, attesting to the sanctity of the waters. Over 12,000 Roman coins have been found, which is one of the largest votive offerings found in Britain (The Official Roman Baths), dating from the first century CE right up to the fourth century CE. It is a matter of debate between archaeologists whether these coins were offered as a single votive offering or whether the devotee offered several coins at once. “However, the importance of these coins may not be confined to our understanding of the temple complex” (Gerrard, p.376)

Curse tablets have also been found. These were soft lead tablets inscribed with a curse, then rolled up and offered up to the goddess of the sacred spring (Richmond & Toynbee, p.97). The devotee would ask for intervention from the goddess. One curse states 'To Minerva the goddess of Sulis I have given the thief who has stolen my hooded cloak, whether slave or free, whether man or woman. He is not to buy back this gift unless with his own blood' (Gerrard, p. 288).

From the available evidence, the significance of the goddess Sulis-Minerva has been of importance since the time the Romans arrived onto the scene. The fact that the Roman goddess Minerva was entwined with the native goddess Sul can be seen of great importance, since religious encounters were more fluid than fixed. Even today, the archaeological evidence that is continually uncovered yields great significance in understanding the power and importance of the cult of Sulis-Minerva.

Bibliography:

Bowman, Marion (1998) Belief, Legend and Perceptions of the Sacred in Contemporary Bath, Folklore, Taylor & Francis.

Gerrard, James (2005) A Possible Late Roman Silver ‘Hoard’ From Bath, Britannia, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

King, Antony (2005) Animals Remains from Temples in Roman Britain, Britannia, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

The Official Roman Baths, Bath & North East Somerset Council, http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/

The History and Significance of the god Abassi

African mythology and the deities that were worshipped today in Africa have not received much attention from the general public. The west has appeared to focus on the mythology from ancient Greece, Rome, China and Japan. One of the reasons for this is that we seem to have more sources of information from these ancient cultures which is more easily available to the public.

Another reason for the lack of information or even understanding could be attributed to the way the African people were seen when the Europeans started to become a permanent presence in Africa. The Europeans, especially the British, French and Portuguese, subjugated the African people and tried to convert them into the Christian religions. This conversion destroyed the religious and to a large extent, the social way of life that the African people once enjoyed.

Only a few missionaries and scholars during the European history in Africa noted down the native deities. As the missionaries were more interested in ‘civilizing’ the people in the Christian way, a lot of their rich religious history has been lost to us. However, we are still able to gain a small insight into the religious history of the African people.

Abassi is a native god of the Anang (also spelt the Annang and Anaang) who are an ethnic group in south-eastern Nigeria on the west coast of Africa. Unlike the majority of Africans who continue to worship their native gods, the Anang are monotheistic. In this then, Abassi is the supreme god, the only god that they worship.

He was seen to be a sky god who “who is assisted in his task of governing the universe and man-kind by over thirty spirits residing on earth in shrines, and by souls of the dead awaiting reincarnation in the underworld. Most shrines are diminutive replicas of the Anang hut, but individual trees, groves, rocks, and ant hills serve to house spirits, and it is before these [shrines] that prayers and sacrifices are offered to the deity to be carried skyward by the [thirty spirits] residing within. Although Abassi is thought to be both omniscient and omnipresent, either directly or through the earth spirit, he lacks ultimate omnipotence, for ghosts, witches, and the spirit of evil magic possess powers over which he sometimes exerts no control. The Anang do not know where these malignant forces originate, and they must be combated with preventive magic”.

The certainty that Abassi will punish freewill behaviour contrary to the tenets of his moral code is the most powerful mechanism of social control in Anang society and it is said that he gives permission for souls of the dead to be reincarnated.

It is wonderful that despite the European subjugation and ‘civilization’, there is still the worship of ancestral deities worshipped in Africa today. For the study of these gods, goddesses and spirits give us a valuable insight into African religious history.

Bibliography:

Messenger, Jnr., John C. (1960) Reinterpretations of Christian and Indigenous Beliefs in a Nigerian Nativist Church, American Anthropologist, Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the American Anthropological Association.