Cult of Herodias: Difference between revisions
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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=104}}</ref> that the nocturnal goddess was originally ''[[Hera]]-Diana'' or ''Herodiana'', and was later 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 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. |
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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{{citation needed}} the fact that in Late Latin and Italian the "h" is mute (the Italian form of ''Herodias'' is ''Erodiade''). A similar figure from [[Romania]] is [[Doamna Zînelor]], also called ''Irodiada'' or ''Arada''. |
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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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