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#REDIRECT [[Aradia]] |
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The '''Cult of Herodias''', in [[medieval]] [[folklore]], was a [[coven]] of witches worshipping the [[Roman mythology|Roman goddess]] [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] and the Biblical character [[Herodias]]. Fables of this cult began to spread sometime before the [[10th century]], were denounced by the [[Roman Catholic Church]] as superstition or diabolical deception, and had largely died out by the time of the [[Reformation]]. The stories were picked up again in the early 20th century by some groups of modern [[neo-pagan]]s, who added elements not found in the original folktales. |
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After the emperor [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine]] had promoted [[Christianity]] and after [[Theodosius I|Theodosius]] established it as the state religion of the [[Roman Empire]] and had outlawed worship of the pagan gods, not all people became Christians. Though classical paganism had largely disappeared from the Roman Empire by the time of [[Justinian I|Justinian]], stories about pagan cults persisted into the Middle Ages. |
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After Christianity had forbidden non-[[heterosexual]] practices and [[orgy|orgies]] formerly common among Romans, a rumour arose that a group of women in [[Italy]] had started a cult centred on the goddess [[Diana (goddess)|Diana]]. This cult, according to the story, was mainly intended for women, preferably [[lesbian]], as many considered Diana a lesbian goddess. Some versions of the tale added what seemed to be an explicitly anti-Christian character: [[Herodias]], the Jewish queen who plotted the death of [[John the Baptist]], who had become deified as the daughter of the virgin goddess. (Other versions of the story identify Diana's daughter not as Herodias, but as the Germanic goddess [[Holda]].) |
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This strange association between the Jewish Queen Herodias and the Roman goddess is resolved in the long-standing theory, now confirmed,<ref>{{cite book |last=Ginzburg |first=Carlo |authorlink=Carlo Ginzburg |year=1990 |title=Ecstasies: Deciphering the witches' sabbath |publisher=Hutchinson Radius |location=London |id=ISBN 0-09-174024-X |pages=p. 104}}</ref> that the nocturnal goddess was originally ''[[Hera]]-Diana'' or ''Herodiana'', and was later [[Conflated|conflated]] with ''Herodias'', a name that lent itself to a particularly negative Christian interpretation. |
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Although the Church was aware of this supposed cult for a long period, it considered it to be a popular [[Delusion|delusion]] rather than anything else: in the 10th century a fragment of text called the ''[[Canon Episcopi]]'' (attributed to an otherwise-unknown Council of Anquira) made mention of it as ''a perversion of the mind originated by Satan'', and consider the fable of the flying women accompanied by Diana to be a ''fantasy experienced while dreaming''. By the 12th century the folktales about this cult had expanded to other places in Europe; the Catholic Church continued to consider it delusory, attributing the stories of its existence either to demonic trickery or to folk [[Superstition|superstition]]. |
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[[John of Salisbury]], [[Bishops of Chartres|Bishop of Chartres]], France, made a comment on these fables in his book ''Policraticus'', naming the goddess Herodias and [[Noctiluca (goddess)|Noctiluca]], queen of the night (12th century). He mentioned the supposed participation of women and men in these meetings. He too considered the existence of this cult to be a fable at best. |
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Among some modern [[Wicca]]ns, a similar figure is worshipped, called [[Aradia (goddess)|Aradia]]. This name was most likely adopted from [[Charles Godfrey Leland|C.G. Leland]]'s book ''[[Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches]]'' ([[1899]]), which claims to be the traditional lore of a 19th century Italian society of witches. This variation on the name Herodias (or Herodiana) is probably due to the fact that in Late Latin and Italian the "h" is mute (the Italian form of ''Herodias'' is ''Erodiade'')<ref>{{cite journal | author=Magliocco, Sabina | title=Who Was Aradia? The History and Development of a Legend | journal=Pomegranate: The Journal of Pagan Studies, | year=2002 | volume=18 | pages= – | url=http://chass.colostate-pueblo.edu/natrel/pom/pom18/aradia.html }}</ref>. A similar figure from [[Romania]] is [[Doamna Zînelor]], also called ''Irodiada'' or ''Arada''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ginzburg |first=Carlo |authorlink=Carlo Ginzburg |title=Ecstasies: Deciphering the witches' sabbath |year=1990 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson Radius |id=ISBN 0-09-174024-X |pages=p. 103}}</ref> |
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==References== |
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<references/> |
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==See also== |
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*[[Neopagan views of homosexuality]] |
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*[[Skyclad]] |
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*[[Wicca]] |
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[[Category:Fictional religions]] |
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[[Category:Medieval legends]] |
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Latest revision as of 09:38, 22 November 2011
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