There are more questions and secrets here than answers. Hecate – the goddess of the moon, night, magic, spells has ambiguous characteristics. She is called the dark goddess. They are afraid of her. She roams the earth with a pack of hellish red-eyed dogs and a retinue of souls of the dead. Only dogs can see her. If the dogs howl, then Hecate is near. I imagine the full moon and the howling of dogs, it makes my heart stop and goosebumps run.
From historical data it is known that already 3000 years ago she was extremely popular in Asia Minor and Greece, as the goddess of the family, travelers, love, as a female goddess with all the functions inherent in a female goddess. In the “Theogony” of Hesiod, Hecate is the daughter of the titans Persus and Asteria, a good goddess endowed with many functions:
… her in front of everyone
Zeus distinguished the Thunderer and bestowed a glorious lot on her:
To rule the fate of the land and the barren desert sea.
She was given an honorable destiny by stellar Uranus,
The immortal gods worship her most of all.
For even now, when one of the earthly people,
Bringing his sacrifices according to the law, prays for mercy,
Then he calls on Hecate: he receives a great honor
It is very easy, since his prayer was received favorably.
The goddess also sends wealth to him: her strength is great.
Hecate has a share in every honorable destiny
Those who were born from Gaia-Earth and from Heaven-Uranus,
Kronides did not abuse her and did not take her back,
What the goddess received from the Titans, from the former gods.
Everything was preserved for her, that at the first partition to share
It fell to her from gifts on earth, and in heaven, and in the sea.
She receives no less honor, as a single daughter, –
Even more: she is deeply honored by Kronid.
The goddess brings great benefits to whom she wishes.
If he wants, in the assembly of the people he will magnify anyone among all.
If people are equipped for a destructive battle,
Stands next to those Hecate, whom he wishes
Give a favorable victory and adorn the name with glory.
A goddess sits near worthy kings at the trial.
She is very useful, and when people compete:
The goddess stands next to them and gives them help.
Whoever wins with power and strength receives a reward,
Rejoicing in his heart, he brings glory to his parents.
She also gives the horsemen help when she wishes,
Also to those who, among the blue, destructive waves, trade,
He will pray to Hecate and the noisy Ennosigeus.
She gives a lot of prey on the hunt very easily,
Very easily, if he wants to, he will show it and take it away.
Together with Hermes, she multiplies cattle in the barnyards;
A herd of grazing goats or steep-horned cows,
A flock of lush-fleece sheep, desiring a soul, she can
Make the smallest great, the great – small.
So, – although the mother’s only daughter – still
Among the immortal gods she is honored with every honor.
Zeus entrusted her with the care of children who will see
After the goddess Hecate, the rising of the many-seeing Eos.
From time immemorial she has kept her youth. These are all the destinies of the goddess.
In these verses Hecate is praised. There is not even a hint of her dark side, of her frightening qualities. Hecate was a goddess in all periods of the existence of Ancient Greece, was a goddess among the Romans and Byzantium. Hecate has a lot in common with the goddesses Ishtar and Cybele. In Lagin there are images of Hecate with lions. Ishtar and Cybele also have lions as invariable attributes. With the arrival of a new generation of Olympian gods, she was left with night, magic, spells. As, almost always happens, with the change of the highest gods and beliefs, negative qualities are given to the previous generation of gods. From the myth of the “Journey of the Argonauts for the Golden Fleece” it is known that Hecate helped Medea in love to brew a love potion. In one of the myths, she turns into a bear, kills her son, then revives him. Very similar to the main legend of the constellation Ursa Major: Callisto, turned into a bear, was almost killed by her son Arcturus. Zeus lifted mother and son to heaven, preventing murder. And now two of the brightest and most important constellations are shining in our sky – Ursa Major and Bootes. In my opinion, for the main constellations of the sky that define our upper world, it is a rather terrible and somewhat incomplete legend. The goddess Artemis is also associated with a bear.
So, we are going according to the plan to the city of Lagina – the sanctuary of Hecate. Found its location near the Turkish city of Yatagan.
We are going from Marmaris. I feel like a flying rocket, a train moving towards my intended target. I am overwhelmed with the energy of movement. I am stretched from the present to the past in time and space. And then, the first surprise. Our taxi is being slowed down by the traffic police.
Moreover, the rest of the cars go as if nothing had happened. I go back to the present moment and do not understand what is going on. We’re flying! A few minutes later the car is released and we move on.
After another ten minutes at the next road post, our taxi is stopped again. The driver was fined for putting on a seat belt somehow wrong. And I get information that he was punished because he was greedy with us, went without preparing for the route, which I translated into Turkish in advance and showed him. After that, we just flew to Lagina. When approaching Lagin, the mountains changed. The peaks of mountains of light yellow, whitish color appeared. They look very unusual. This is not snow, but the rock of which the mountains are composed. Color determines the frequency of the area. I immediately realized that we were approaching the goal – the cities of Laginé and Stratonikey.
I did not expect such a large area of the city. From Stratonikea to Lagina, the temple complex of Hecate, there was a sacred road. The distance between Lagina and Stratonikea is 8.5 kilometers. Scientists estimate that the road is at least 3000 years old. The inhabitants of Stratonikeia, during the ceremonial processions, left and moved along the sacred path to Lagina. A girl with a key took part in the cult processions along with the priests. Musicians and singers walked in front and behind the priests. The key was considered an attribute of Hecate. The goddess Hecate was portrayed with a key, torch and sword. The key may have symbolized the passage to the higher worlds, to the transcendental paradise, to the world of the dead. One of the names of Hecate “Clydophora” – the keeper of the gates, another “Propylaea” – the gatekeeper with the keys. In the Orphic hymn, Hecate is called “Keeper of the Universe”. Small sanctuaries of Hecate were built for protection. They were called “hecateion”. The road went through the gate to the temple of Hecate. There were household and commercial buildings around the temple. The lagina is surrounded by a stone wall, the remains of which are still visible here and there. The semicircular entrance to Propylon was on the west side. To the east of the entrance was a section with a triangular pediment.
There were many temples, religious buildings, buildings.
At the entrance there is a house with a guard. The entrance is free. There are no visitors and it seems they rarely come here.
A small group of archaeologists in the center of the settlement are excavating, drinking tea under a canopy from the sun.
Temperature 35 degrees.
Under the scorching sun, we walk through the ancient city.
Here I finally understood and felt what I have been looking for in my travels for many years.
In Lagin was what I felt in three more ancient cities. It is inexpressible in words, it is a special higher energy.
We go into round temples with columns
we go past the ruins
and a huge amount of marble, slabs with inscriptions, with bas-reliefs. In Lagin, sarcophagi were found, which are carefully preserved.
I feel the same feminine energy here as in the temples of Aphrodite and Artemis. The understanding of Hecate comes as the female goddess of fertility, love, matter, well-being. Special rituals were performed in this city. There is an altar. The city was not built just like that, but according to a previously thought out scheme. On the poster, I see an image of Hecate, consisting of three faces, looking in three directions.
Hecate is called the three-faced goddess of the crossroads. In India, gods and goddesses are depicted with many heads, arms and legs. The three faces of Hecate are her divinity, truth, self-discipline in the upper world. The absence of visitors and the “unpatched” nature of the city make our trip rich in impressions. Nobody bothers us. Once a security guard came on a moped and looked at what we were doing. There are many marked sites for excavation. All of this remains to be discovered. Nothing goes unnoticed.
11/09/2020
Belena Travel Blog 