Ancient Greek goddesses are the descendants of an earlier goddess cult

The religious practices of Old European civilization were highly developed. Ritual life was abundant, including diverse religious festivities, such as the celebratory rites of forefathers and mothers, as well as different processions. The Great Goddess was the central figure and she had many functions. She was the Earth Mother, protrectress of Nature and the growth cycle of plants, of agriculture and animal raising, as well as the benefactress of creative work.

Traditional cultural history states that the Goddess cult was abandoned entirely when the Indo-Europeans arrived in Southeastern Europe. It is claimed that Indo-European male deities then came into power, with the god Zeus at the forefront. Does this story still ring true? New research has uncovered entirely different information.

A figurine found in Pazardzhik (Bulgaria), circa 4800–4700 BCE. Ceramic items from a cult place.

Goddess worship did not cease suddenly with the arrival of her male counterparts. The worship of the Old European Goddess rather entered a new dimension, as if the Goddess were perpetuating herself. Her functions were divided into new identities, and as a multidimensional ancestress, she transformed into several different figures. Thus a "network" of strong goddesses arose in Greek mythology. Under no circumstances was it a question of abandoning the Goddess cult.

Historical linguistics has made some surprising discoveries which support those presented above. The names of several goddesses are not Greek in origin, but instead refer to pre-Greek culture. In other words, they come from the Old European language. These discoveries were affirmed when archeologists pointed out that the remains found at the goddesses' sacred sites predated the Ancient Greek civilization itself. These results help us perceive the continuity of the Goddess cult. We now know that Hera, Hestia, Athena, Gaia, Themis and other goddesses, admired since antiquity and who symbolize authentic "Greek" tradition, are in reality much older than the Greeks themselves.

A struggle began when the Indo-Europeans arrived to the land they later called Hellas. There was a cultural turning point, defined by the rivalry between the Goddess and certain male deities. The newcomers worshipped the god Zeus (Divios), who had an Indo-European wife (Divia). But Hera, one of the daughters of Old Europe, arrived on the scene. Divia and Hera were rivals for a time, but Divia was no competition for Hera, who became Zeus's new wife.

Sacred sites that later became symbols of the Greek spirit, such as Olympia and Delphi, originally reflected the Old European Goddess tradition. Prior to Zeus gaining power, Hera was the first protectress of Olympia, and she remained there by Zeus's side. Delphi was founded by the pre-Greek Gaia, Mother Earth, before the god Apollo began to rule over Delphi. Gaia was also worshipped during Apollo's era, and indeed she was never completely displaced. Hestia, patroness of the home and hearth, was revered in Greek households. She was respected by the native inhabitants even before the arrival of the Greeks. Athena was the greatest deity in the state of Athens. She ruled from the top of the Acropolis prior to the Greeks' arrival. The Acropolis was originally called "kranaa", meaning "the holy rock", a pre-Greek word. One could say that  the Old European Goddess tradition shone even more brilliantly through the cult of Athena in Ancient Greece, as compared to its precursor in earlier days.

Through cult and ritual activities, the role of ancient Goddesses in society and their perceived influence on peoples' everyday lives was very strong. This is why the Christian church couldn't displace them, and the Virgin Mary assimilated attributes from the goddesses. Thus the goddess tradition of Old Europe continues to this day through one of Christianity's main figures.

Harald Haarmann and Virpi Lehtinen

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